Transformative Learning With Mexican Cartel Members: An Exploration of Organized Crime Through Participatory Action Research in Prison

• Published date: 01 November 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00328855241278320
• Author: Danielle Strickland
• Date: 01 November 2024
• Subject Matter: Articles

Transformative Learning

With Mexican Cartel

Members: An

Exploration of Organized

Crime Through

Participatory Action

Research in Prison

Danielle Strickland

1

Abstract

This article considers transformative education in prison as a tool to address

cartel violence in Mexico. It begins by examining how the rise of democracy

in Mexico is partially responsible for the expansion of organized crime. Data

from a participatory action research project with twelve men incarcerated

for cartel-related crimes is then used to explore the violence plaguing

Mexico. Results emphasize the relevance of structural disparities and stigma

as sociocultural barriers that favor the empowerment of organized crime.

The article closes with ref‌lections regarding the challenges for prison educa-

tion in a country where cartels have signif‌icant control over the government.

Keywords

organized crime, prison education, Mexican cartels, transformative learning

1

Department of Psychology, Education, and Health, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios

Superiores de Occidente (ITESO), Tlaquepaque, México

Corresponding Author:

Danielle Strickland, Department of Psychology, Education, and Health, Instituto Tecnológico y

de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO), Periférico Sur Manuel Gómez Morín #8585,

Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, México, CP 45604.

Email: danielle@iteso.mx

Article

The Prison Journal

2024, Vol. 104(5) 661–678

© 2024 SAGE Publications

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/00328855241278320

journals.sagepub.com/home/tpj

Introduction

In recent years, Mexico has become internationally renowned for corruption,

violence, and organized crime. Cartels

1

are now the nation’sf‌ifth-largest

employer, boasting a workforce of approximately 175,000 members, with

more than 350 new recruits each week to replace those who are murdered, dis-

appeared, and imprisoned (Prieto Curiel et al., 2023).Their business has

expanded far beyond narcotic sales to include human traff‌icking, kidnaping,

extortion, agricultural production, mining, laundering money through shell

companies, unsolicited security services, and huachicol (theft and illegal

sales of gasoline).

Since 2018, the federal government’s main strategy to address the ever-

growing power of organized crime has been the implementation of a

National Guard to replace debilitated civilian police forces. Although the gov-

ernment denies accusations of militarizing security, 79% of National Guard

agents come from the army or the marines (Arana, 2022). The Morena polit-

ical party has won elections throughout Mexico by promising to rid the nation

of corruption. While several previous politicians from other parties have been

brought to justice, cartels continue to inf‌iltrate all levels of government and

law enforcement. In the words of Ioan Grillo, “Money rises up like gas,

and power f‌lows down like water”(2020, par. 1). The ongoing corruption con-

tributes to the persistence of chronic violence throughout the country. In 2022,

there were more than 110,000 open missing persons’reports. The federal gov-

ernment hadregistered over 3,000 mass gravesin 4 years, yet only 40 sentences

had been mandated for these murders (González Núñez, 2022).

It thus comes as no surprise that Mexico has one of the highest rates of impu-

nity in the world for crimes of conf‌lict and violence (Eurasia Group, 2023). In

2022, at least one member of 27.4% of the country’s households was victim of a

crime (INEGI, 2023). However, Mexicans have such little faith in the justice

system that only 10% of these crimes were reported to the police. Of those

that were reported, just 68% resulted in a criminal investigation, and less

than half of the investigations resulted in a conviction. Thus, considering unre-

ported crimes, reports without follow-up, and unsuccessful investigations, the

rate of impunity in Mexico is approximately 93% (INEGI, 2023).

Nevertheless, prisons throughout the country are overcrowded. Of the 235

state prisons reviewed for the National Diagnosis of Penitentiary Supervision

(DNSP) in 2022, 123 were overpopulated (CNDH, 2022). In some cases, men

are tied to the wall to sleep in chambers with more than a dozen other cell-

mates, as there is not enough f‌loor space for them all.

Like most countries, Mexico’s penitentiary system was implemented to

“reform”and “reinsert”prisoners into society (see Art. 18 of the Mexican

662 The Prison Journal 104(5)