As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been studying the role of citizen activism on regards to drug-related violence in Mexico City. In particular I have been focusing on the impact of eminent domain, and a new legal framework called ‘extinción de dominio’ that is being implemented on by the Mexico City government to tackle violence ridden neighborhoods through the transformation of property. In particular property that could be traced as the instrument of drug-related crime. This law basically strips away any rights to the local community and gives authorities the discretionary power to seize opportunity without having to prove guilt. Communities are then ‘presumed guilty’ until proven innocent, which may take months or years to clear. This causes a particular problem in terms of rights, and having those rights heard and respected. Crime (or presumed crime) becomes an immediate inhibitor of the citizen’s fight for the respect of their rights. Which leads us to see that even if the law is being used unfairly, there is no pushback from the communities.

I am still trying to develop the exact structure for my final project but have finally honed down on the topic and its breadth.
I am interested in space as a tool to understand the complexities at play in urban environment. Regarding the issue of drug-related violence I am specially interested in addressing the way the built environment manifest the intricacies of interaction between the state, citizens, and what Profr Davis calls 'violence entrepreneurs'.

In the last 6 years violence has scaled dramatically in certain cities in Mexico, driving the state to try and develop new judicial tools to understand and tackle this issue. At the center of this battle, is a fight for territory, and control of that territory by these three different parties, that are not always differentiated clearly. I wish to understand how activists have defended their territories in this struggle, and the languages and media developed through that struggle.