Organized crime has remained an incredibly persistent problem in Mexico in the last decades consequently causing severe levels of violence, insecurity, and corruption in the country. Historically,...Show moreOrganized crime has remained an incredibly persistent problem in Mexico in the last decades consequently causing severe levels of violence, insecurity, and corruption in the country. Historically, Mexican organized crime groups have demonstrated strong resilience and overcome various challenges posed by the Mexican and American governments. However, it is not clear how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted organized crime in Mexico. This thesis wishes to explore this by studying the changes in organized crime activity in Mexico before and during the pandemic. Based on the crime rates, it was observed that some organized crime-related activities decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, while others remained stable. These results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent regulations have had a slight, but insignificant impact on organized crime in Mexico. This strongly indicate that Mexican organized crime groups’ have the ability to show great resilience in the face of major disruptions to the social environment. This finding highlights the need for more detailed research on what mechanisms enable organized crime to remain afloat. An understanding of these mechanisms is of great significance to policymakers attempting to limit the harm of organized crime.Show less
Governance constitutes an important feature of organized crime. Across the world, millions of people live under criminal governance. In such cases, criminal organizations are involved in enforcing...Show moreGovernance constitutes an important feature of organized crime. Across the world, millions of people live under criminal governance. In such cases, criminal organizations are involved in enforcing rules and collecting taxes, providing security, as well as offering basic goods and services. This phenomenon primarily takes place in areas of weak state presence, where the government fails to satisfy the population's basic needs such as physical and social security. As of today, criminal governance remains particularly widespread throughout Latin America. Indeed, the region suffers from high levels of violence and public insecurity, which bear significant impacts on social, economic, and political life. The states of Mexico and Brazil, in particular, are home to some of the largest criminal organizations in the world. The latter include cartels and gang networks of various sizes and organizational structures. In turn, the same organizations have been involved in establishing localized governance practices in their respective countries. Despite being a well-researched concept in academia, criminal governance remains understudied in contexts of crisis. The states of Brazil and Mexico have been greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and its negative socioeconomic impacts. In addition, the said crisis profoundly altered the environment in which criminal organizations operate. Using a comparative case study methodology, this thesis, therefore, investigates the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on criminal governance practices from criminal groups in Mexico and Brazil. In doing so, it aims to form a better understanding of how criminal organizations adapted their governance activities to the health crisis.Show less
