Apathetic youngsters and potential criminals: systemic, symbolic and situational violence toward ninis in Mexico DEVELOPMENT PATHS: VALUES, ETHICS AND MORALITY THE DEVELOPMENT STUDIES ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2010 Juancho Barrón Pastor November 5th, 2010

Contents Context: Ninis and the so-called war on narcotics in Mexico The Anti-Oedipus argument Systemic, symbolic and situational violence Concepts working in examples Conclusion

Ninis in Mexico 106 million people live in Mexico 34.7 million are young people between 14 and 29 years old (INEGI, 2005) Of them, 42.9% are in conditions of poverty (Coneval, 2008) and 7.5 millions do not have a job and are not studying (Narro, 2010)

Violence Situational Violence (Zimbardo, 2007) Systemic Violence (Žižek, 2008; Deleuze & Guattari, 1972) Symbolic Violence (Bourdieu, 1991)

Systemic violence towards young people in Mexico Access rate to higher education in Mexico is 28% but with huge inequalities: Access rate of Mexico City to Higher education is 42% Access rate in rural areas is 13% Access rate for indigenous people is only 3% (INEE, 2007) 91% of the aspirants seeking a place to study in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) were rejected this year (La Jornada 8/April/2010)

Photo: María Luisa Severiano La Jornada

Systemic violence: the construction of normality Mexico displays unemployment rates usually between 4 and 5% of the economically active population (INEGI, 2009). However, this apparent low rate is disguised behind 15 million people sub-employed (CEPAL, 2010), representing at least 60% of economically active population (OECD, 2009).

Systemic violence: the construction of normality The economic crisis of 2009 provoked losses of around a million formal jobs (INEGI, 2009) The number of people that will be 18 years-old this year is more than 1.5 million (CONAPO, 2010) The expectation of the Mexican government for this year is to create 250,000 formal jobs (El Financiero, 2010) This would mean that only 15 of every 100 people entering the economically active population this year will find a formal job (CEESP, 2010).

Photo: Guillermo Sologuren La Jornada

Symbolic violence: the construction of dangerousness Ninis] despise for authority is fed by the lack of horizons. Parents despaired by impotence see how their sons leave, without having convincing reasons to persuade them. They [the ninis] are a very fluid and tireless source of evil legionaries; exactly, as fluid and tireless as the Vietcong. Accordingly with surveys of serious firms (sic), these youngsters are in hopelessness. Even more, they find natural and [they are] logically ready to attend the calls from narcos inviting [the ninis] to join them [the narcos]. [This may happen] basically due to the adventurer tendency of that age, and because of the [access to] easy money. Both tendencies are in the mood of a futureless youth (Carrillo Olea, 2010, my translation).

Photo: Lorenzo Encinas, Milenio Semanal 678, 2010

Situational violence: the end of parties Around 20,000 people of the people executed in the last three years could be less than 29 years-old (Milenio Semanal 678, 2010) In Ciudad Juárez, 1,200 people under 18 years-old were killed this year (Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Francisco Vitoria, 2010) 10,000 the number of orphans living in this city (Asociación de Maquiladoras, 2010) In Monterrey, 519 people have been killed this year and presumably most of them were young people between 14 and 29 years-old (Milenio Semanal 678, 2010)

Situational violence: the end of parties Two parties ended in a massacre conducted by commandos this year in Ciudad Juárez: On January 31 st, 16 young people were assassinated while they were in a school-party at the house of one of them. On October 23 rd, 14 people were killed when having a birthday party. The preliminary reports say that at least four of the lethal victims were under 18 years old and two children of 7 and 11 years-old are in the hospital at the moment of writing these lines. At least four women were killed in this slaughter, one pregnant and one leaving 6 orphans (La Jornada, 24-Oct-2010) On October 29 th, the federal police open fire towards a pacific demonstration asking for the end of the juvenicide. One student is in the hospital.

Video: Radiza. Mx video-de-la-11a-kaminata-donde-pfp-balea- estudiantes&catid=41:estatal&Itemid=71http:// content&view=article&id=6480:vea-el-video-de-la-11a-kaminata-donde-pfp-balea- estudiantes&catid=41:estatal&Itemid=71

The Anti-Oedipus argument Maybe many adults have the sensation of powerlessness and hopelessness attached to ninis. Instead of recognising that the current circumstances put young people in very vulnerable conditions and in highly risky situations Young people are accused of been potential criminals. Is this a projection of the adult world? Or is it a projection about how profoundly the narco is deeply rooted in society as corruption also is as asserted one the major Narco-capos Ismael Mayo Zambada (Scherer, 2010)?

Conclusions Representing young people as ninis reinforces the stereotype of young people as potential criminals, by these means they are violently treated in three dimensions: 1) in systemic forms through the construction social exclusion and open competition for access to education and formal jobs as a normal state of violence 2) in symbolic ways through stigmatisation and stereotyping as potential criminals disseminated through discourses 3) through situational means that increase peoples vulnerability now exacerbated by bloodbaths in certain parts of the country.

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