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In reply to the discussion: When Men Hate Women: Femicide in Ciudad Juarez [View all]BainsBane
(54,087 posts)21. from the Harvard, DRCLAS piece
SOME THEORIES
Who is killing the women of Juárez? Theories abound. The answers multiply, though are often speculative. Initially, fingers pointed to foreigners, and an Egyptian engineer and U.S.-convicted sex offender, Abdel Latif Sharif Sharif, was jailed; from his prison cell he allegedly hired gangs to continue killing women. Sharif died in prison, but it appears very unlikely he was responsible for any of the serial killings.
In extensive media attention on both sides of the border, more theorizing occurred about the identity of the killers and their psychopathic and material motives: snuff film makers, drug dealers engaged in sport to celebrate profits, police officers, organ harvesters, gang members, U.S.-registered sex offenders and the sons of rich families, known as los juniors. People are quick to blame machismo, an oversimplified term that Latinizes the gender power relational changes all over the world. Although we can discount wild theories involving snuff films and organ trafficking, the fact is that world experts on serial killing have been unable to identify the culprits through the botched evidence provided by the municipal and state police.
Although we cannot identify the killers at this time, we can contribute explanations for the political, economic, and institutional conditions that are responsible for public insecurity, shockingly extreme violence against women and judicial impunity. Our explanations are less dramatic but paint a more comprehensive picture. In so doing, we do not demonize Ciudad Juárez as the unique, women-killing stain on the international map. In fact, international NGOs like Amnesty International have more recently begun to generate awareness about even greater rates of femicide elsewhere in Mexico and other parts of the Americas, particularly Guatemala.
Ciudad Juárez sits at the frontlines of globalization that started well before the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that began officially in 1994. In the mid-1960s, Mexico established the Border Industrialization Program to encourage foreign investment and job creation in what began as feminized assembly-line production. From modest beginnings, the maquiladora labor force has grown to nearly a quarter-million workers in 300 plants in the city, most of them U.S. owned. Many workers migrated from Mexicos interior; in fact, Ciudad Juárez is sometimes called a city of migrants.
At the outset, women represented about 80% of the assembly-line workers. By the early 21st century, the percentage of women in the maquiladora workforce diminished, but it is still more than half. In the 40 years of industrial production on the border, gender anxieties, threats and some male backlash have emerged in response to womens greater earning power, however modest, in the formal workforce. The local media have sometimes expressed hostility toward the maquiladora women, most notably in the 1980s and early 1990s. Popular folklore often portrays these women as oversexed libertines who stay out late and dress provocatively, leading some politicians to blame the victims. However, by the late 1990s, the border media reflected massive outrage and soul-searching within the city.
What, then, is there about this industrial city that might aggravate violence along with high rates of femicide and homicide? We explore several issues in our context-situated explanations.
Who is killing the women of Juárez? Theories abound. The answers multiply, though are often speculative. Initially, fingers pointed to foreigners, and an Egyptian engineer and U.S.-convicted sex offender, Abdel Latif Sharif Sharif, was jailed; from his prison cell he allegedly hired gangs to continue killing women. Sharif died in prison, but it appears very unlikely he was responsible for any of the serial killings.
In extensive media attention on both sides of the border, more theorizing occurred about the identity of the killers and their psychopathic and material motives: snuff film makers, drug dealers engaged in sport to celebrate profits, police officers, organ harvesters, gang members, U.S.-registered sex offenders and the sons of rich families, known as los juniors. People are quick to blame machismo, an oversimplified term that Latinizes the gender power relational changes all over the world. Although we can discount wild theories involving snuff films and organ trafficking, the fact is that world experts on serial killing have been unable to identify the culprits through the botched evidence provided by the municipal and state police.
Although we cannot identify the killers at this time, we can contribute explanations for the political, economic, and institutional conditions that are responsible for public insecurity, shockingly extreme violence against women and judicial impunity. Our explanations are less dramatic but paint a more comprehensive picture. In so doing, we do not demonize Ciudad Juárez as the unique, women-killing stain on the international map. In fact, international NGOs like Amnesty International have more recently begun to generate awareness about even greater rates of femicide elsewhere in Mexico and other parts of the Americas, particularly Guatemala.
Ciudad Juárez sits at the frontlines of globalization that started well before the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that began officially in 1994. In the mid-1960s, Mexico established the Border Industrialization Program to encourage foreign investment and job creation in what began as feminized assembly-line production. From modest beginnings, the maquiladora labor force has grown to nearly a quarter-million workers in 300 plants in the city, most of them U.S. owned. Many workers migrated from Mexicos interior; in fact, Ciudad Juárez is sometimes called a city of migrants.
At the outset, women represented about 80% of the assembly-line workers. By the early 21st century, the percentage of women in the maquiladora workforce diminished, but it is still more than half. In the 40 years of industrial production on the border, gender anxieties, threats and some male backlash have emerged in response to womens greater earning power, however modest, in the formal workforce. The local media have sometimes expressed hostility toward the maquiladora women, most notably in the 1980s and early 1990s. Popular folklore often portrays these women as oversexed libertines who stay out late and dress provocatively, leading some politicians to blame the victims. However, by the late 1990s, the border media reflected massive outrage and soul-searching within the city.
What, then, is there about this industrial city that might aggravate violence along with high rates of femicide and homicide? We explore several issues in our context-situated explanations.
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k and r for this horrific story. I used to go to ciudad juarez years ago, when it was relatively
niyad
Jun 2013
#1
I would guess that NAFTA contributed to a flood of new female workers to Juarez...
antigone382
Jun 2013
#26
Do you have any evidence that the killers are Americans crossing the border for kicks?
GreenStormCloud
Jun 2013
#16
Why are you making this a fight? Why does this conversation make you jump to being offended?
Squinch
Jun 2013
#41
I know - American CCW holders killing women and smuggling the bodies into Mexico
hack89
Jun 2013
#58
What percentage of guns did the Mexican goverment submit to the US government for tracing?
hack89
Jun 2013
#145
no, i get it and you are correct. its an attempt to define a protected class. i fight it often. nt
galileoreloaded
Jun 2013
#27
i think you might need or want a break from DU because your ability to read my mind
galileoreloaded
Jun 2013
#39
men are murdered 3-1 over women nationally. go bark up a different tree nt
galileoreloaded
Jun 2013
#44
so men killing men doesn't count. most sexist quote ive seen on DU. please stop making
galileoreloaded
Jun 2013
#48
Yeah, that has to do with the minor fact the serial killers are targeting women
BainsBane
Jun 2013
#32
Reading comprehension, much? The OP DOES mention men, but notes that their murders ARE NOT
WinkyDink
Jun 2013
#42
If you would like to make an OP about the deaths of men in Juarez, which are primarily from the
Squinch
Jun 2013
#65
there is nothing stopping you from posting an article on the number of men killed, you know.
niyad
Jun 2013
#114
Most of the cartel's guns are smuggled in for countries that make real AK-47s.
GreenStormCloud
Jun 2013
#86
The ATF shows 87% came from the US, murder apologist corp. says 90% didn't come from US
BainsBane
Jun 2013
#138
Start your own thread, then. BTW: Serial sex murders are not the same category as other killings.
WinkyDink
Jun 2013
#45
I don't think that illustrating concern for A denies in any way any additional concern for B.
LanternWaste
Jun 2013
#117
So it's OK for you to hijack a discussion about a serial killer to push a fight from another thread?
Squinch
Jun 2013
#126
In the other thread she referred to this thread to make her point. N/T
GreenStormCloud
Jun 2013
#165
its nice to see rational thought rewarded 6-0. DU never lets me down! nt
galileoreloaded
Jun 2013
#221