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255 12 “Hecho en México”: Gangs, Identities, and the Politics of Public Security Gareth A. Jones As I sit on the pavement with a group of young people passing the time near a bustling market in the city of Puebla, central Mexico, I listen to Ramón as he describes his worries over recent events. He is uncharacteristically nervous, unable to sit still, and his eyes are scanning the street. During our previous meetings, Ramón would take little notice as passers-­by shot disapproving glances at his often bare-­chested, muscular, although sometimes disheveled appearance—­a look that communicated drug use and little consideration for conventional employment. Nor, unlike others in the group, would Ramón approach the police to pay for their “cooperation” for a hassle-­ free life, preferring to remain near the back of a shaded area of trees and stalls out of sight, or he would invent a reason to cross the road to the market and return once the coast was clear. But today he was alert. In recent weeks, the area of Hidalgo market, one of the city’s major locations for the sale of smuggled, stolen, and prohibited goods, had become a quasi-­militarized zone. Apparently in search of contraband, the Agencia Federal de Investigación (AFI), a police agency staffed with many ex-­military personnel and with all the paraphernalia and finesse of a paramilitary unit, had been conducting operations in the market. Moreover, a new state-­level police force known as the Metropolitana had also been in the area, repeatedly driving by in large pickup trucks, the men dressed in black fatigues, wearing balaclavas and touting assault rifles. Both the AFI and the Metropolitana are less reliable than the local police, and they exude menace. 256    gareth a. jones As a unit of the Metropolitana passed our seated position, Ramón muttered under his breath. But once the pickup had gone a safe distance , he got up and, without intending for his voice to carry, shouted a string of obscenities in their direction. He sat back down, still worried , and commented that “everything had gone to shit around here.” As a contributor to what most people would consider to be the “shit” of the Hidalgo area, Ramón’s reflection was that the norms that guided antisocial behavior, including crime, had shifted, and the change had been away from the conditions to which he was accustomed. In short, policing had become military-­ style “public security”; indeed, through the unfolding war on drugs, it had become legitimated as “national security.”1 This was not a welcome shift for somebody like Ramón or, indeed, for most young people caught up in the razzias, the police and military sweeps of streets and clubs, which often involve meting out violence (Castillo Berthier and Jones 2009). Ramón’s agitation was heightened, however, by what he referred to as some “awkward business ,” possibly linked to his roles in armed robbery or low-­ level drug deals. Although details were hazy, it appeared that some people were looking for him, and he was contemplating acquiring a handgun for protection. As we talked, he revealed that there were people at the back of the market who “rented” guns and that he was deciding between three models.2 The new policing situation, however, was a cause for concern, as possessing a weapon—­he motioned to placing a gun in the belt of his jeans behind his back—­ would be dangerous if he were detained. And despite his streetwise demeanor, Ramón was often detained. In these circumstances, Ramón raised the seemingly sensible option of leaving Puebla. Like many of his peers, his life history revealed considerable mobility as well as dreams of travel (Jones and Thomas de Benítez 2009). But our discussion of the flight option took an unexpected turn when Ramón mentioned that he might be better off in Tepito, a central barrio in Mexico City associated with crime, and where he had previously lived. He dismissed the alternative of going to Los Angeles, which he declared he knew quite well (despite having previously denied ever having been in the United States). Moreover, it transpired that in both Tepito and California, he had been involved with gangs. Would the solution to the “awkward business” in Puebla be found by reacquainting himself with his old gang, and if so, why opt for Tepito and not the United States? This chapter explores how Ramón [18...

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