Lynching or vigilantism? A conceptual reflection on punitive violence in Mexico

Abstract

During the last three decades, episodes of extralegal violence in Mexico -commonly conceptualized as “lynchings”- have given rise to a series of social science researches. Academic discourse on the subject has traditionally focused on the conditions that made their irruption possible, their inscription in scenarios of social fragmentation, the debates on whether such actions were pre-modern or modern, or the description of some of their most notorious features. However, in recent years, the insufficiency of the category “lynching” to clarify and explain the different modalities of violence used by some segments of the population to provide security has been challenged. This paper presents the definitions that have been given to this term, as well as some criticisms of its all-encompassing nature. Moreover, we turn to the notion of vigilantism to think whether some of its contributions and contemporary reflections on diverse punitive violence can be useful to capture different characteristics or variables that remain invisible under the category of lynching.