Transcript The New York Times

Pantaleo, K (2010). Gendered Violence: An Analysis of the
Maquiladora Murders. (Excerpts)
• Social construction of the murders by three different groups, the
news media, human rights organizations, and academic researchers
• Impact of NAFTA on gender and crime/justice, inequality and
crime, maquiladora, the patriarchal social fabric of Mexican society
and backlash against women
• Patriarchal beliefs are the most culturally influential due to the
importance of male domination and female subordination
Maquiladora murders or femicides of Juarez:
• Rape, torture, and mutilation of the victims- the bodies are
unrecognizable.
• Victims were often employees of maquiladoras, or foreign-owned
Mexican factories, which allow tax-free imports of materials and
tax-free exports increase in factories
• Although NAFTA brought factories, the area still remain poorly
developed, with little electricity, poor lighting, and dirt roads.
• As more women secured jobs in the maquiladoras, more women
from Juarez and surrounding areas were out late at night and
alone in these areas, providing an opportunity to be victimized.
Causes:
1. Many farms were destroyed to build more factories
2. Wages have decreased, attempts for workers to unionize have
failed, and the factories violate basic labor rights, daily
3. Mexican women have lower levels of education and lower
literacy rates than males
4. NAFTA has not only increased jobs but also increased
opportunities for criminal victimization and exploitation in the
maquiladoras.
5. Machismo and Marianismo: Male power and aggression is
symbolized by aggression, whereas the domestic and inferior
nature of women is symbolized by marianismo.
6. Increased involvement in the labor force, a contributing factor to
the victimization of these women because of the competition for
economic resources
7. Drug Trafficking and Violence in Mexico
• Law enforcement and other government officials
are bribed into covering up murders and drug
trafficking
• Journalists interrelated the following factors, mainly corruption in
the Mexican criminal justice system, effects of NAFTA, and the
Mexican drug market
• Portray the murders as gendered sexual serial killings primarily
perpetuated and caused by corruption of the criminal justice
system.
• Made a significant contribution to defining the murders as a social
problem.
• The newspapers provide a visual aid that the public can use to
define or construct the problem themselves.
• Newspaper claims-makers provide a framework for the murders as
a social problem
Academics:
Requiring institutional response and cultural changes, not
the least of which are preventative measures—toward
eradicating cultures of violence, of impunity,
of misogyny, and of male backlash’’ (Staudt, 2008
Focused most on the victims and the causes and less on the
perpetrators
Human Rights Reports:
Reports that were not publicized until 10 or more years after the
murders began
Effective narratives in portraying the murders as a social problem,
caused by gender issues and corruption of the criminal justice
system.
Patterns that developed across the narratives
• Description of the victims as female maquiladora workers
• Nature of the murders: most often described as sexual and
degrading in nature, rape, sexual assault, mutilation, strangulation,
and torture – so identifying the victims made the murders a social
problem
• Three sets of perpetrators were consistently reported: local bus
drivers, Abdel Sharif the Egyptian chemist, and the Rebels gang
• Main cause as the corruption of the criminal justice system
•
Secondary causes are suggested as gender issues and NAFTA
Dillon(1998) The New York Times
• Connection between feminist views and corruption in the
criminal justice system
• Feminist ideology of male backlash and machismo as reasons
for the murders, both as a motive for killing and for lack of
investigation
• Increase of the sweatshop industry, especially in the early
1990s, has lead to a deterioration of the social fabric of
Ciudad Juarez.
• NAFTA increased the size of the sweatshop industry and in
the process resulted in altering gender roles that were not
culturally ready to be changed.
Violations of the side labor agreement (NAALC), which are
directly tied to NAFTA.
The poor working conditions inside the maquiladoras along with
the poor environmental conditions surrounding the factories:
poor lighting, dirt roads, and little security contribute to an
environment where women are more likely to be targeted as
victims
Taken as a whole, the narrative sample in this study portrayed the
murders as gendered sexual serial killings primarily perpetuated
and caused by:
NAFTA
Gender issues
Corruption of the criminal justice system.