© The author(s), 2015 | Licensed to the Surveillance Studies Network under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives license.

The article argues that Surveillance Studies in Latin America should analyze violence and insecurity as the central elements in the dynamics of surveillance, but also demonstrates how surveillance acts as a major component on the dynamic of violence in the region. Taking Mexico as a point of reference, the article explores three surveillance regimes: state, social and criminal surveillance in order to identify how the dynamics of insecurity and violence have impacted each. The features of these surveillance regimes implies a particular way to collect information and data, while also suggesting methodological challenge