Life That Thrives In Hostility: Mexico\u27s Indigenous Communities and Self-Defense Forces

Explores the emergence of self-defense forces as a third front in Mexico’s drug war. Argues the geographic location of these groups is best predicted by indigenous marginalization and thick social capital. Mexico’s indigenous communities enjoy a de facto autonomy of neglect from the federal state. These communities exercise social bonds in order to ensure their cultural survival. These bonds have been reinforced throughout history, from the Mexican Revolution to the Zapatista Uprising. Under conditions of weakening state institutions and rising cartel extortion/brutality, indigenous communities were the best suited to overcome collective action problems and respond proactively to local violence