Mexico: Assessment of Illegal Protection Markets (Mafias)

An Assessment of Illegal Protection Markets –
Eduardo Guerrero Gutiérrez
Illegal protection encompasses a set of activities that involve coercion by any agent different from the State, usually sophisticated and violent criminal organizations (mafias). Illegal protection may be provided against deception by others, against competition, against the government or against a threat from the mafia itself (Gambetta, 1993). While mafias may extort money from a broad set of actors, individuals who lack access to the judiciary may typically have a larger demand for illegal protection (or may be more vulnerable to extortion). Hence, other criminals —particularly smaller networks of thieves and smugglers or those who engage in illicit trades— are among the primary targets of mafias. Communities with an overall weak rule of law are more prone to develop large
illegal protection markets. Anecdotal evidence from the media suggests that illegal protection has become endemic throughout Mexico in the last few years. Accounts of mafia style organizations
extorting other criminals, businesses (both legal and “informal”) as well as individuals are common in several regions that have been hit by organized crime-related violence. However, so far there are no systematic assessments of this phenomenon. Read Article

Municipalities with more than 100 organized crime-related deaths
2007-2010 / Mafia ridden violence
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Municipality / State / Murders / Messages / Ratio/ Category
Cuernavaca Morelos 180 34 18.9%
Chilpancingo Guerrero 168 22 13.1%
Acapulco Guerrero 669 81 12.1%
Ecatepec México 218 24 11.0%
Lázaro Cárdenas Michoacán 128 12 9.4%
Benito Juárez Quintana Roo 109 10 9.2%
Morelia Michoacán 260 22 8.5%
Petatlán Guerrero 136 11 8.1%
Iztapalapa Distrito Federal 131 9 6.9%
Nezahualcóyotl México 165 10 6.1%
Nuevo Laredo Tamaulipas 158 9 5.7%
Apatzingán Michoacán 146 8 5.5%
Aguascalientes Aguascalientes 113 6 5.3%
Pungarabato Guerrero 133 7 5.3%
Guadalajara Jalisco 145 7 4.8%
Uruapan Michoacán 207 9 4.3%
Culiacán Sinaloa 1887 73 3.9%
Gustavo A. Madero Distrito Federal 100 3 3.0%
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