Paper short abstract:

This paper utilizes ethnographic and visual data derived from the recent upsurge of violence in Mexico in order to show how specific forms of cartel inspired violence are not only enacted via a similar logic to the that of the State but also serve as a necessary supplement to its existence.

Paper long abstract:

Whether in the form of the destructive force of international capital on the lives of farmers, the occasional clashes between the armed forces of the State and an endless array of guerrilla groups, or the murders and rapes that have become synonymous with attempts to cross the Mexican/U.S. border, violence is very much a part of the everyday lives of Mexican people. However, a federally coordinated crackdown on drug cartels over the last five years has generated a level of violence that far exceeds anything most Mexicans have ever experienced. This paper draws upon visual and ethnographic materials documenting the recent upsurge in government and cartel sponsored violence in Mexico in order to contribute to a universal understanding of the State. Specifically, I highlight the ways that State fetishism in Mexico and the inviolability of the State rely on a specific use of the sacred that is generated in those public displays of excess that point to how one's adversaries await a fate far worse than death. Through an analysis of recent accounts of violence along with visual images of criminals, weaponry, and violent acts I argue that the expanse of the State in Mexico is such that even violence perpetrated against the federal government by groups that are commonly assumed to be its enemy such as drug cartels, and paramilitary groups, is not only enacted via a similar logic to that of its avowed enemy, but serves as a necessary supplement to its existence.