mexican jihad
TRANSCRIPT
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 15
NUESTRA APARENTE RENDICIOacuteNQUEREMOS CONSTRUIR PAZ Y DIAacuteLOGO POR ESO ESTAMOS AQUIacute Buscar
USTED ESTA AQUI Inicio BLOGS Cordelia Rizzo Mexican Jihad
Viernes 25 Octubre 2013 tamantildeo de la fuente Imprimir Email iexclEscribe el primer comentario
Documenting the Visual Narrative of the War on
Drugs by Michelle Garciacutea
Michelle Garciacutearsquos piece analyzes the relevance of
deconstructing the visual discourse of the War on Drugs
in Mexico and examines what the Mexican Jihad tumblr
has to say about it The tumblr takes images out of their
context and displays them in a way that is able to express
the way President Felipe Calderoacuten and his cabinet gave so
much importance to communicating a need of fighting the enemy through a display of bravado in military
parades and other type of photo ops Garciacutearsquos text helps us think about these more subtle mechanisms of war
ideologization and morale boosting that the former government has used to persuade Mexicans and the
international community that the military intervention has to go on until the lsquocolossal enemyrsquo is subdued and
destroyed shyWB
Everywhere he looks madness has taken hold Bodies strung from bridges bodies dissolved in acid Men roam
across cities and small towns carrying automatic weapons The dead are his age as are the killers the enemy might
have studied with him in high school back in Oaxaca ldquoDrug warrdquo they say in English ldquola guerra contra el narcordquo
(war against the narco) they call it in Mexico titles that explain the killers and the killings titles repeated by the
press the president and experts who claim to decode the meaning and motives in the work of criminals
Alberto Bustamante was a skinny college freshman one month shy of his 21st birthday when in 2006 Felipe
Calderon rode into the presidency and declares a war against the narcos drug traffickers whose powdered and
herbal merchandise fills the bongs and noses of gringo lawyers college kids and empty nesters But in Mexico
narco turf battles were to blame for massacres and beheadings including in the presidents home state of
Michoacan The Mexican president speaking of freeing ldquoyoung Mexicans from drugs[1]rdquo sent in the military
eventually deploying tens of thousands across the country
The visual evidence of ldquowarrdquo quickly followed[2] Military caravans roll down handsome boulevards and onto dirt
roads helicopters carry troops into marijuana fields burning bales of weed images of handcuffed men with
somber faces strategically positioned behind piles of weapons and cash War obliterated the complexities of the
narco enginemdashcorruption impunity and a dismal economy that produced thousands of unemployed under
educated young men who make for ideal candidates as look outs drivers smugglers and hit men With ldquowarrdquo neat
lines are drawn and camps are formed in a fight of good versus evil
Calderon told his neighbors to the north that his was a war ldquoto free the young Mexicans from drugs and to free
Mexican society from slavery on the part of organized crime based on money and technology[3]rdquo
But if Calderon was leading the charge of the ldquogoodrdquo Alberto found him a ldquoshockingrdquo portrait of heroism ldquoIts a
war you see that there are dead but its also a war on psychological level and thats what makes it very shockingrdquo
says Alberto hunched over his laptop in the cafe he owns with some friends ldquoIt becomes shocking when every time
you see the president hes dressed in a suit behind a podium giving a speech and then to see him dressed in military
stylerdquo
Last year as Calderons term began winding down and the death toll arrived at 70000[4]-90000 dead in six years
DESAPARECIDOS
AYUacuteDANOS A MANTENER NAR
ESTADO DE LA REPUacuteBLICA
MEXICAN JIHAD
MEXICANJIHADTUMBLRCOM
Septiembre en VeracruzrepresioacutenRepresioacuten a maestros a campesinosy a periodistas Septiembre marcoacuteun parteaguas en los sistemas derepresioacuten en Veracruz la nuevaPoliciacutea Estatal Acreditable lo mismoarremetioacute contra los maestros enresistenciahellip
Septiembre en Nuevo Leoacuten Bajoel aguaI En Septiembre siempre llueve enel Noreste del paiacutes en esta ocasioacuten seacercoacute un huracaacuten se le llamoIngrid ya como tormenta tropicalgolpeo algunas zonas de NuevoLeoacutenhellip
Septiembre en Quereacutetaro Ahorafueron los migarntesPara evitar un secuestro un grupode migrantes armados pediacutea 8 mildoacutelares a otro grupo de migrantesque bajaron del tren en lacomunidad de Agua Azul municipiodehellip
Bailar el vals contigo PapaacuteCarta a mi papaacute Rafael Garciacutea AacutevilaPapaacute te extrantildeo donde quiera queesteacutes ojalaacute te vuelva a hablar paraque veas coacutemo estoy de grande ahoray para decirte cuaacutentohellip
Homenaje a un hijo ausenteUn diacutea maacutes sentada frente a lacomputadora y no seacute coacutemo empezara escribir lo que siento No seacute siquienes lean esta carta logrenentender el significado dehellip
Gritarle al silencioA mi hijo Edson Hace cuatro antildeosque te arrancaron de mi lado Estoysufriendo Hay tristeza y dolorporque no seacute de ti Me sientoincompleta mutilada me faltas tuacutehellip
NAR CAMPANtildeAS COMUNIDAD BLOGS ESTAMOS HACIENDO BIBLIOTECA LIBROS MEDIATECA
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 25
depending on who you believe To mark the war of his generation Bustamante produced his own psy-op distilling
the madness onto a mix tape Mexican Moslem mix tape[5] he would call it a cheeky rebuke to the Mexican and
US governments war rhetoric of equating the narco enemy with terrorists and the fight against narcos with the
US War on Terror And because Bustamante was in with the club kids the artists he played the mix at a dance
party in Mexico City that megalopolis ringed by mountains Mexican Moslem was his anthem for a generation
branded with the name narco a collection of phantasmagorical electronica tracks writhing and agitating and at
times invoking mourning with touches of Lady Gaga and influenced by musicians who go by the name Viva la
violencia Long Live the Violence
Link to music[6]
From the dance floor Bustamante lobbed his anthem onto the online media battlefield he says ldquoto put in public
view my personal vision of what was going onrdquo He paired the Mexican Moslem soundtrack with his online
scrapbook from Calderons war a collection of images culled from flicker instagram twitter news sites and blogs
He named it Mexican Jihad[7] calling it a gift to his president
The images were meant to shock his viewers into reconsidering ubiquitous photographs of war with its easily
recognizable narrative of a force for good-the government- battling against agents of evil the narcos ldquoI realized
that the images that I had kept no one recognized I would show someone the images and they would say where did
that come from The Newsrdquohe says
But what Mexican Jihad turned out to be for those following the six years of bloodshed and unsolved murders one
of the most poignant and critical commentaries of the visual story of Mexicos ldquodrug warrdquo Mexican Jihad reaches
behind simplistic neatly drawn lines of ldquowarrdquo and clear cut camps of good versus evil by training its focus on the
visual ldquowarrdquo narrativefor a violence in which very little is known about how killed and why Bustamante however
with his eclectic collection of published images online feeds and screen shots extends his critique to include the
press for reprinting the images with little or no scrutiny and the public for imbibing the entire package
Mexican Jihads kaleidoscopic trip through ldquowarrdquo begins with a replica of the painted mural inside a ldquonarco
museumrdquo housed within a military training center that showcases the hardware and bling confiscated from
narcos The triptych depicts Mexican soldiers charging at fields of cannabis and opium across the distinct regions
of the country What follows is an unbroken series of gifs and images and conspicuous absence of words to
capitalize as Bustamante says on publics predilection for scrolling through sites ldquolike pornrdquo
From the leftist magazine Proceso to more mainstream outlets to narco blogs and the foreign press all carried
much of the same government orchestrated photo-ops that communicated one idea WAR There were military
caravans rolling down handsome boulevards and onto dirt roads helicopters-borne troops raiding marijuana
fields burning bales of weed images of handcuffed men with somber faces strategically positioned behind piles of
weapons and cash[8] Bustamante a budding architect with a sharp eye for the control and use of space sifted
through the constant stream of images that saturated his world guided by personal and political taste
Further along President Calderon is seen with a green light radiating from his eyes The photograph was taken
during a presidential event in the enormous zocalo public square when spectators locked green lasers on the face
of the hugely unpopular war president ldquoIts civic protest taking place of the president in public on national TV
You are protesting on the face of the presidentrdquo he says with a smile ldquoThats beautifulrdquo
Bustamante then points to a photo of the crime scene from the Villas de Salvarcar massacre in Ciudad Juarez when
16 teenagers celebrating a birthday inside a private home were shot down by gunmen
The president initially intimated that the victims had been involved in organized crime but after a public
excoriation by parents of the young athletes and promising students Calderon later apologized
Ripped from their context Bustamantes collected images of nationalism military parades and photo-ops of
Calderon with his military leaders take on a sinister look A huge billboard that reads ldquono more weaponsrdquo seems
mocking when weapons are in the hands of everyone ldquoThis is as grotesque as a beheadingrdquo says Bustamante
ldquoThis is the actual power the actual decisionrdquo
The Mexican government and organized crime groups used images to vie for control over the publics perception of
power says Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera a university professor and expert on organized crime on the Texas-Mexico
border Criminal groups scrawled messages in blood and tacked to corpses Their was purpose was--If I can do
this there is no one to protect you When I take this from you there is nothing you can dordquo And the government she
says joined in its enemys game ldquoIt didnt improve institutions it didnt improve justice It wanted something
PRENSA AMENAZADA
CONTADOR DE VISITAS
Este conteo no incluye las de Menos Diacuteas Aquiacute ni las visitas
particulares a proyectos especiales y redes
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 35
spectacularrdquo
The stunning images of war however obliterated the complexities of the narco engine corruption impunity and a
dismal economy that produced thousands of unemployed under educated young men who made for ideal candidates
as look outs drivers smugglers and hit men Such nuance would emerge within the online battlefield where the
neat lines of war were blurred and Mexicans were bombarded with videos of brutality that went viral In one
masked men bludgeoned to death a state attorney generals brother like a pinata[9] No one knows who wielded the
weapons In a taped interrogation a woman clutching a rose confesses to having committed extortions Was she
questioned by police the military someone else[10] A video of a ldquodrug cartelrdquo execution suggests a nexus between
the military and ldquocartel members[11]
These images are not counted as part of the intense government publicity during the drug war that promoted
everything from the countrys security forces to its beaches as seen in ads installed inside New York City subways
(During Calderons administration its worth noting government spending on ldquopublicityrdquo quadrupled reaching $4
billion in 2011 and exceeding the authorized budget by a factor of three according to an analysis of public spending
by the watchdog group Publicidad Oficial[12]) Indeed Mexican Jihad includes promotional images from El
Equipo[13] the short-lived secretly government financed television program beamed into every home in Mexico that
glorified the Mexican federal police and its mission of good
Just weeks before the Villas de Salvarcar massacre Julian Cardona a leading photographer who has chronicled
the violence in Ciudad Juarez told me that the story of Mexicos ldquodrug warrdquo was consisted of a recycling of image
that created ldquoecho or propagation in the national local and foreign mediardquo Photographs and visuals revolved
around the declared ldquodrug warrdquo narrative-- security forces out ldquofight ing the narcordquo followed by the parade of the
accused handcuffed faced down whose guilt was implicit though in most cases after the cameras disappeared
detainees were eventually released[14]
In Juarez at least Cardona said young menmdashdead or alivemdash taken as the narco were often low level pushers or
users Likewise beyond the camera lens are images capturing state security forces conducting arbitrary detentions
torturing or disappearing people ldquoIts rare that someone who has had any experience like that would open
themselves so that another image could be consideredrdquo he said ldquoVery frequently you have images of soldiers going
through the streets but not of their victimsrdquo
There were no photographs that could illustrate that of the 1203 homicides cases between 2010 and 2011
according to an investigation by El Diario de Juarez only in 59 crime scenes were firearms found meaning in the
ldquodrug warrdquo battles only one side was shooting
But visual criticism requires context and that is where Mexican Jihad encounters its limits ldquoYoud have to know
what you know for this to make senserdquo John Mraz said What makes Mexicos drug war unique is that its visual
story fits within a long history of a government created cultural identity through television films and photography
says Mraz author of ldquoMexicos Looking for Mexico Modern Visual Culture and National IdentityrdquoThe images
featured in Mexican Jihad are the very images of nationalism and identity promoted by Calderon to shore up
support for his ldquodrug warrdquo
Last year Mexican Jihad jumped from the page to real life when Alberto and some friends mounted a series of dance
parties within the newly unveiled monument to Mexican war history Over four weeks they hosted djs from some of
Mexicos hardest hit cities at the Estela de Luz a monument in honor of the bicentanrio of independence and the
Mexican Revolution at the entrance of the presidential palace While the music played inside Bustamante and his
collaborators beamed words from an oversized light fixture They called the event ESTADO (state) a co-opting of
the government
Bustamante hands me an event flyer and one of the ldquosponsorsrdquo listed is NAAFI which he tells me represents Navy
Army and Air Force Institutes but in reflecting the dismal legacy of the ldquowar against the narcordquo he added ldquonow its
the name of my partyrdquo
A few weeks later on December 1 Enrique Pentildea Nieto assumed the presidential office and Mexican Jihad lay
frozen in time Bustamante left the online monument a homage to the war president The ldquowarrdquo he says isnt the
same under the new president Gone are the splashy photo-ops with detained men standing in front of weapons and
drugs the military operations storming into the countryside and Pentildea Nieto has yet to appear with military brass
But the number of dead holds steady at a little over 1000 per month extortions and kidnappings are rampant
General impunity continues unabated 98 percent of homicides committed in 2012 remain unsolved[15] The only
indication that the ldquowarrdquo is over is the absence of its images
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 45
Por
Fecha
Twittear
[1] httpwwwlocgovtodaycyberlcfeature_wdescphprec=5508
[2] Possible good photo essays to either include in the piece or link to
httpwwwtimecomtimephotogallery029307165142000html (notice the description is precisely the point of
criticism the idea of good versus evil)
httpprojectslatimescommexico-drug-warits-a-war
httpwwwtheatlanticcominfocus201205mexicos-drug-war-50-000-dead-in-6-years100299
httpwwwbostoncombigpicture200903mexicos_drug_warhtml
[3] httpwwwlocgovtodaycyberlcfeature_wdescphprec=5508
[4] httpwwwinsightcrimeorgnews-analysismexican-govts-murder-count-worse-useless
httparticleslatimescom2012jan11worldla-fg-mexico-dead-numbers-20120112
[5] httpwwwmixcloudcomdemomiltonmexican-moslem-
mixtapeutm_source=widgetamputm_medium=webamputm_campaign=flash_links
[6] httpwwwmixcloudcomdemomiltonmexican-moslem-
mixtapeutm_source=widgetamputm_medium=webamputm_campaign=flash_links
[7] Mexicanjihadtumblrcom
[8] Possible good photo essays to either include in the piece or link to
httpwwwtimecomtimephotogallery029307165142000html (notice the description is precisely the point of
criticism the idea of good versus evil
httpprojectslatimescommexico-drug-warits-a-war
httpwwwtheatlanticcominfocus201205mexicos-drug-war-50-000-dead-in-6-years100299
httpwwwbostoncombigpicture200903mexicos_drug_warhtml
[9] httptutvvideoshermano-de-patricia-gonzalez-la-pinata WARNING EXTREME VIOLENCE
[10] httpmexablogcommx20101019confesion-de-una-extorsionadora-antes-de-ser-ejecutada
[11] httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=EVF6qIEWFtI
httpdirgroupsyahoocomgroupJudgedMenAllianceForTomorrowmessage2671
[12] httppublicidadoficialcom-mxgastofederal
[13] httparticleslatimescom2011jun01worldla-fg-mexico-tv-series-20110602
[14] httporgnewswwwinsightcrime-briefscalderon-80-organized-crime-detainees-free
[15] httpwwwanimalpoliticocom20130798-de-los-homicidios-de-2012-en-la-impunidadaxzz2dstTiffa
Informacioacuten adicionalMichelle Garciacutea
2013
ETIQUETADO COMO VIOLENCE IN MEXICO VISUAL NARRATIVE WAR ON DRUGS
MAacuteS EN ESTA CATEGORIacuteA
laquo Poems About Loss
Like 77 people like this Be the first of yourfriends
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 55
ENVIAR COMENTARIO
volver arriba
DEJA UN COMENTARIOAseguacuterate de llenar la informacioacuten requerida marcada con () No estaacute permitido el Coacutedigo HTML Tu direccioacuten de correo NO
seraacute publicada
Mensaje
Escribe aquiacute tu mensaje
Nombre
escribe tu nombre
Escribe tu direccioacuten de correo electroacutenico
URL del sitio web
escribe la URL de tu sitio Web
Escribe las dos palabras que ves a continuacioacuten
Powered by 2B BARCELONA BOGOTA copy NUESTRA APARENTE RENDICION | 2010 All rights reserved
Escriba el texto
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 25
depending on who you believe To mark the war of his generation Bustamante produced his own psy-op distilling
the madness onto a mix tape Mexican Moslem mix tape[5] he would call it a cheeky rebuke to the Mexican and
US governments war rhetoric of equating the narco enemy with terrorists and the fight against narcos with the
US War on Terror And because Bustamante was in with the club kids the artists he played the mix at a dance
party in Mexico City that megalopolis ringed by mountains Mexican Moslem was his anthem for a generation
branded with the name narco a collection of phantasmagorical electronica tracks writhing and agitating and at
times invoking mourning with touches of Lady Gaga and influenced by musicians who go by the name Viva la
violencia Long Live the Violence
Link to music[6]
From the dance floor Bustamante lobbed his anthem onto the online media battlefield he says ldquoto put in public
view my personal vision of what was going onrdquo He paired the Mexican Moslem soundtrack with his online
scrapbook from Calderons war a collection of images culled from flicker instagram twitter news sites and blogs
He named it Mexican Jihad[7] calling it a gift to his president
The images were meant to shock his viewers into reconsidering ubiquitous photographs of war with its easily
recognizable narrative of a force for good-the government- battling against agents of evil the narcos ldquoI realized
that the images that I had kept no one recognized I would show someone the images and they would say where did
that come from The Newsrdquohe says
But what Mexican Jihad turned out to be for those following the six years of bloodshed and unsolved murders one
of the most poignant and critical commentaries of the visual story of Mexicos ldquodrug warrdquo Mexican Jihad reaches
behind simplistic neatly drawn lines of ldquowarrdquo and clear cut camps of good versus evil by training its focus on the
visual ldquowarrdquo narrativefor a violence in which very little is known about how killed and why Bustamante however
with his eclectic collection of published images online feeds and screen shots extends his critique to include the
press for reprinting the images with little or no scrutiny and the public for imbibing the entire package
Mexican Jihads kaleidoscopic trip through ldquowarrdquo begins with a replica of the painted mural inside a ldquonarco
museumrdquo housed within a military training center that showcases the hardware and bling confiscated from
narcos The triptych depicts Mexican soldiers charging at fields of cannabis and opium across the distinct regions
of the country What follows is an unbroken series of gifs and images and conspicuous absence of words to
capitalize as Bustamante says on publics predilection for scrolling through sites ldquolike pornrdquo
From the leftist magazine Proceso to more mainstream outlets to narco blogs and the foreign press all carried
much of the same government orchestrated photo-ops that communicated one idea WAR There were military
caravans rolling down handsome boulevards and onto dirt roads helicopters-borne troops raiding marijuana
fields burning bales of weed images of handcuffed men with somber faces strategically positioned behind piles of
weapons and cash[8] Bustamante a budding architect with a sharp eye for the control and use of space sifted
through the constant stream of images that saturated his world guided by personal and political taste
Further along President Calderon is seen with a green light radiating from his eyes The photograph was taken
during a presidential event in the enormous zocalo public square when spectators locked green lasers on the face
of the hugely unpopular war president ldquoIts civic protest taking place of the president in public on national TV
You are protesting on the face of the presidentrdquo he says with a smile ldquoThats beautifulrdquo
Bustamante then points to a photo of the crime scene from the Villas de Salvarcar massacre in Ciudad Juarez when
16 teenagers celebrating a birthday inside a private home were shot down by gunmen
The president initially intimated that the victims had been involved in organized crime but after a public
excoriation by parents of the young athletes and promising students Calderon later apologized
Ripped from their context Bustamantes collected images of nationalism military parades and photo-ops of
Calderon with his military leaders take on a sinister look A huge billboard that reads ldquono more weaponsrdquo seems
mocking when weapons are in the hands of everyone ldquoThis is as grotesque as a beheadingrdquo says Bustamante
ldquoThis is the actual power the actual decisionrdquo
The Mexican government and organized crime groups used images to vie for control over the publics perception of
power says Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera a university professor and expert on organized crime on the Texas-Mexico
border Criminal groups scrawled messages in blood and tacked to corpses Their was purpose was--If I can do
this there is no one to protect you When I take this from you there is nothing you can dordquo And the government she
says joined in its enemys game ldquoIt didnt improve institutions it didnt improve justice It wanted something
PRENSA AMENAZADA
CONTADOR DE VISITAS
Este conteo no incluye las de Menos Diacuteas Aquiacute ni las visitas
particulares a proyectos especiales y redes
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 35
spectacularrdquo
The stunning images of war however obliterated the complexities of the narco engine corruption impunity and a
dismal economy that produced thousands of unemployed under educated young men who made for ideal candidates
as look outs drivers smugglers and hit men Such nuance would emerge within the online battlefield where the
neat lines of war were blurred and Mexicans were bombarded with videos of brutality that went viral In one
masked men bludgeoned to death a state attorney generals brother like a pinata[9] No one knows who wielded the
weapons In a taped interrogation a woman clutching a rose confesses to having committed extortions Was she
questioned by police the military someone else[10] A video of a ldquodrug cartelrdquo execution suggests a nexus between
the military and ldquocartel members[11]
These images are not counted as part of the intense government publicity during the drug war that promoted
everything from the countrys security forces to its beaches as seen in ads installed inside New York City subways
(During Calderons administration its worth noting government spending on ldquopublicityrdquo quadrupled reaching $4
billion in 2011 and exceeding the authorized budget by a factor of three according to an analysis of public spending
by the watchdog group Publicidad Oficial[12]) Indeed Mexican Jihad includes promotional images from El
Equipo[13] the short-lived secretly government financed television program beamed into every home in Mexico that
glorified the Mexican federal police and its mission of good
Just weeks before the Villas de Salvarcar massacre Julian Cardona a leading photographer who has chronicled
the violence in Ciudad Juarez told me that the story of Mexicos ldquodrug warrdquo was consisted of a recycling of image
that created ldquoecho or propagation in the national local and foreign mediardquo Photographs and visuals revolved
around the declared ldquodrug warrdquo narrative-- security forces out ldquofight ing the narcordquo followed by the parade of the
accused handcuffed faced down whose guilt was implicit though in most cases after the cameras disappeared
detainees were eventually released[14]
In Juarez at least Cardona said young menmdashdead or alivemdash taken as the narco were often low level pushers or
users Likewise beyond the camera lens are images capturing state security forces conducting arbitrary detentions
torturing or disappearing people ldquoIts rare that someone who has had any experience like that would open
themselves so that another image could be consideredrdquo he said ldquoVery frequently you have images of soldiers going
through the streets but not of their victimsrdquo
There were no photographs that could illustrate that of the 1203 homicides cases between 2010 and 2011
according to an investigation by El Diario de Juarez only in 59 crime scenes were firearms found meaning in the
ldquodrug warrdquo battles only one side was shooting
But visual criticism requires context and that is where Mexican Jihad encounters its limits ldquoYoud have to know
what you know for this to make senserdquo John Mraz said What makes Mexicos drug war unique is that its visual
story fits within a long history of a government created cultural identity through television films and photography
says Mraz author of ldquoMexicos Looking for Mexico Modern Visual Culture and National IdentityrdquoThe images
featured in Mexican Jihad are the very images of nationalism and identity promoted by Calderon to shore up
support for his ldquodrug warrdquo
Last year Mexican Jihad jumped from the page to real life when Alberto and some friends mounted a series of dance
parties within the newly unveiled monument to Mexican war history Over four weeks they hosted djs from some of
Mexicos hardest hit cities at the Estela de Luz a monument in honor of the bicentanrio of independence and the
Mexican Revolution at the entrance of the presidential palace While the music played inside Bustamante and his
collaborators beamed words from an oversized light fixture They called the event ESTADO (state) a co-opting of
the government
Bustamante hands me an event flyer and one of the ldquosponsorsrdquo listed is NAAFI which he tells me represents Navy
Army and Air Force Institutes but in reflecting the dismal legacy of the ldquowar against the narcordquo he added ldquonow its
the name of my partyrdquo
A few weeks later on December 1 Enrique Pentildea Nieto assumed the presidential office and Mexican Jihad lay
frozen in time Bustamante left the online monument a homage to the war president The ldquowarrdquo he says isnt the
same under the new president Gone are the splashy photo-ops with detained men standing in front of weapons and
drugs the military operations storming into the countryside and Pentildea Nieto has yet to appear with military brass
But the number of dead holds steady at a little over 1000 per month extortions and kidnappings are rampant
General impunity continues unabated 98 percent of homicides committed in 2012 remain unsolved[15] The only
indication that the ldquowarrdquo is over is the absence of its images
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 45
Por
Fecha
Twittear
[1] httpwwwlocgovtodaycyberlcfeature_wdescphprec=5508
[2] Possible good photo essays to either include in the piece or link to
httpwwwtimecomtimephotogallery029307165142000html (notice the description is precisely the point of
criticism the idea of good versus evil)
httpprojectslatimescommexico-drug-warits-a-war
httpwwwtheatlanticcominfocus201205mexicos-drug-war-50-000-dead-in-6-years100299
httpwwwbostoncombigpicture200903mexicos_drug_warhtml
[3] httpwwwlocgovtodaycyberlcfeature_wdescphprec=5508
[4] httpwwwinsightcrimeorgnews-analysismexican-govts-murder-count-worse-useless
httparticleslatimescom2012jan11worldla-fg-mexico-dead-numbers-20120112
[5] httpwwwmixcloudcomdemomiltonmexican-moslem-
mixtapeutm_source=widgetamputm_medium=webamputm_campaign=flash_links
[6] httpwwwmixcloudcomdemomiltonmexican-moslem-
mixtapeutm_source=widgetamputm_medium=webamputm_campaign=flash_links
[7] Mexicanjihadtumblrcom
[8] Possible good photo essays to either include in the piece or link to
httpwwwtimecomtimephotogallery029307165142000html (notice the description is precisely the point of
criticism the idea of good versus evil
httpprojectslatimescommexico-drug-warits-a-war
httpwwwtheatlanticcominfocus201205mexicos-drug-war-50-000-dead-in-6-years100299
httpwwwbostoncombigpicture200903mexicos_drug_warhtml
[9] httptutvvideoshermano-de-patricia-gonzalez-la-pinata WARNING EXTREME VIOLENCE
[10] httpmexablogcommx20101019confesion-de-una-extorsionadora-antes-de-ser-ejecutada
[11] httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=EVF6qIEWFtI
httpdirgroupsyahoocomgroupJudgedMenAllianceForTomorrowmessage2671
[12] httppublicidadoficialcom-mxgastofederal
[13] httparticleslatimescom2011jun01worldla-fg-mexico-tv-series-20110602
[14] httporgnewswwwinsightcrime-briefscalderon-80-organized-crime-detainees-free
[15] httpwwwanimalpoliticocom20130798-de-los-homicidios-de-2012-en-la-impunidadaxzz2dstTiffa
Informacioacuten adicionalMichelle Garciacutea
2013
ETIQUETADO COMO VIOLENCE IN MEXICO VISUAL NARRATIVE WAR ON DRUGS
MAacuteS EN ESTA CATEGORIacuteA
laquo Poems About Loss
Like 77 people like this Be the first of yourfriends
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 55
ENVIAR COMENTARIO
volver arriba
DEJA UN COMENTARIOAseguacuterate de llenar la informacioacuten requerida marcada con () No estaacute permitido el Coacutedigo HTML Tu direccioacuten de correo NO
seraacute publicada
Mensaje
Escribe aquiacute tu mensaje
Nombre
escribe tu nombre
Escribe tu direccioacuten de correo electroacutenico
URL del sitio web
escribe la URL de tu sitio Web
Escribe las dos palabras que ves a continuacioacuten
Powered by 2B BARCELONA BOGOTA copy NUESTRA APARENTE RENDICION | 2010 All rights reserved
Escriba el texto
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 35
spectacularrdquo
The stunning images of war however obliterated the complexities of the narco engine corruption impunity and a
dismal economy that produced thousands of unemployed under educated young men who made for ideal candidates
as look outs drivers smugglers and hit men Such nuance would emerge within the online battlefield where the
neat lines of war were blurred and Mexicans were bombarded with videos of brutality that went viral In one
masked men bludgeoned to death a state attorney generals brother like a pinata[9] No one knows who wielded the
weapons In a taped interrogation a woman clutching a rose confesses to having committed extortions Was she
questioned by police the military someone else[10] A video of a ldquodrug cartelrdquo execution suggests a nexus between
the military and ldquocartel members[11]
These images are not counted as part of the intense government publicity during the drug war that promoted
everything from the countrys security forces to its beaches as seen in ads installed inside New York City subways
(During Calderons administration its worth noting government spending on ldquopublicityrdquo quadrupled reaching $4
billion in 2011 and exceeding the authorized budget by a factor of three according to an analysis of public spending
by the watchdog group Publicidad Oficial[12]) Indeed Mexican Jihad includes promotional images from El
Equipo[13] the short-lived secretly government financed television program beamed into every home in Mexico that
glorified the Mexican federal police and its mission of good
Just weeks before the Villas de Salvarcar massacre Julian Cardona a leading photographer who has chronicled
the violence in Ciudad Juarez told me that the story of Mexicos ldquodrug warrdquo was consisted of a recycling of image
that created ldquoecho or propagation in the national local and foreign mediardquo Photographs and visuals revolved
around the declared ldquodrug warrdquo narrative-- security forces out ldquofight ing the narcordquo followed by the parade of the
accused handcuffed faced down whose guilt was implicit though in most cases after the cameras disappeared
detainees were eventually released[14]
In Juarez at least Cardona said young menmdashdead or alivemdash taken as the narco were often low level pushers or
users Likewise beyond the camera lens are images capturing state security forces conducting arbitrary detentions
torturing or disappearing people ldquoIts rare that someone who has had any experience like that would open
themselves so that another image could be consideredrdquo he said ldquoVery frequently you have images of soldiers going
through the streets but not of their victimsrdquo
There were no photographs that could illustrate that of the 1203 homicides cases between 2010 and 2011
according to an investigation by El Diario de Juarez only in 59 crime scenes were firearms found meaning in the
ldquodrug warrdquo battles only one side was shooting
But visual criticism requires context and that is where Mexican Jihad encounters its limits ldquoYoud have to know
what you know for this to make senserdquo John Mraz said What makes Mexicos drug war unique is that its visual
story fits within a long history of a government created cultural identity through television films and photography
says Mraz author of ldquoMexicos Looking for Mexico Modern Visual Culture and National IdentityrdquoThe images
featured in Mexican Jihad are the very images of nationalism and identity promoted by Calderon to shore up
support for his ldquodrug warrdquo
Last year Mexican Jihad jumped from the page to real life when Alberto and some friends mounted a series of dance
parties within the newly unveiled monument to Mexican war history Over four weeks they hosted djs from some of
Mexicos hardest hit cities at the Estela de Luz a monument in honor of the bicentanrio of independence and the
Mexican Revolution at the entrance of the presidential palace While the music played inside Bustamante and his
collaborators beamed words from an oversized light fixture They called the event ESTADO (state) a co-opting of
the government
Bustamante hands me an event flyer and one of the ldquosponsorsrdquo listed is NAAFI which he tells me represents Navy
Army and Air Force Institutes but in reflecting the dismal legacy of the ldquowar against the narcordquo he added ldquonow its
the name of my partyrdquo
A few weeks later on December 1 Enrique Pentildea Nieto assumed the presidential office and Mexican Jihad lay
frozen in time Bustamante left the online monument a homage to the war president The ldquowarrdquo he says isnt the
same under the new president Gone are the splashy photo-ops with detained men standing in front of weapons and
drugs the military operations storming into the countryside and Pentildea Nieto has yet to appear with military brass
But the number of dead holds steady at a little over 1000 per month extortions and kidnappings are rampant
General impunity continues unabated 98 percent of homicides committed in 2012 remain unsolved[15] The only
indication that the ldquowarrdquo is over is the absence of its images
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 45
Por
Fecha
Twittear
[1] httpwwwlocgovtodaycyberlcfeature_wdescphprec=5508
[2] Possible good photo essays to either include in the piece or link to
httpwwwtimecomtimephotogallery029307165142000html (notice the description is precisely the point of
criticism the idea of good versus evil)
httpprojectslatimescommexico-drug-warits-a-war
httpwwwtheatlanticcominfocus201205mexicos-drug-war-50-000-dead-in-6-years100299
httpwwwbostoncombigpicture200903mexicos_drug_warhtml
[3] httpwwwlocgovtodaycyberlcfeature_wdescphprec=5508
[4] httpwwwinsightcrimeorgnews-analysismexican-govts-murder-count-worse-useless
httparticleslatimescom2012jan11worldla-fg-mexico-dead-numbers-20120112
[5] httpwwwmixcloudcomdemomiltonmexican-moslem-
mixtapeutm_source=widgetamputm_medium=webamputm_campaign=flash_links
[6] httpwwwmixcloudcomdemomiltonmexican-moslem-
mixtapeutm_source=widgetamputm_medium=webamputm_campaign=flash_links
[7] Mexicanjihadtumblrcom
[8] Possible good photo essays to either include in the piece or link to
httpwwwtimecomtimephotogallery029307165142000html (notice the description is precisely the point of
criticism the idea of good versus evil
httpprojectslatimescommexico-drug-warits-a-war
httpwwwtheatlanticcominfocus201205mexicos-drug-war-50-000-dead-in-6-years100299
httpwwwbostoncombigpicture200903mexicos_drug_warhtml
[9] httptutvvideoshermano-de-patricia-gonzalez-la-pinata WARNING EXTREME VIOLENCE
[10] httpmexablogcommx20101019confesion-de-una-extorsionadora-antes-de-ser-ejecutada
[11] httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=EVF6qIEWFtI
httpdirgroupsyahoocomgroupJudgedMenAllianceForTomorrowmessage2671
[12] httppublicidadoficialcom-mxgastofederal
[13] httparticleslatimescom2011jun01worldla-fg-mexico-tv-series-20110602
[14] httporgnewswwwinsightcrime-briefscalderon-80-organized-crime-detainees-free
[15] httpwwwanimalpoliticocom20130798-de-los-homicidios-de-2012-en-la-impunidadaxzz2dstTiffa
Informacioacuten adicionalMichelle Garciacutea
2013
ETIQUETADO COMO VIOLENCE IN MEXICO VISUAL NARRATIVE WAR ON DRUGS
MAacuteS EN ESTA CATEGORIacuteA
laquo Poems About Loss
Like 77 people like this Be the first of yourfriends
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 55
ENVIAR COMENTARIO
volver arriba
DEJA UN COMENTARIOAseguacuterate de llenar la informacioacuten requerida marcada con () No estaacute permitido el Coacutedigo HTML Tu direccioacuten de correo NO
seraacute publicada
Mensaje
Escribe aquiacute tu mensaje
Nombre
escribe tu nombre
Escribe tu direccioacuten de correo electroacutenico
URL del sitio web
escribe la URL de tu sitio Web
Escribe las dos palabras que ves a continuacioacuten
Powered by 2B BARCELONA BOGOTA copy NUESTRA APARENTE RENDICION | 2010 All rights reserved
Escriba el texto
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 45
Por
Fecha
Twittear
[1] httpwwwlocgovtodaycyberlcfeature_wdescphprec=5508
[2] Possible good photo essays to either include in the piece or link to
httpwwwtimecomtimephotogallery029307165142000html (notice the description is precisely the point of
criticism the idea of good versus evil)
httpprojectslatimescommexico-drug-warits-a-war
httpwwwtheatlanticcominfocus201205mexicos-drug-war-50-000-dead-in-6-years100299
httpwwwbostoncombigpicture200903mexicos_drug_warhtml
[3] httpwwwlocgovtodaycyberlcfeature_wdescphprec=5508
[4] httpwwwinsightcrimeorgnews-analysismexican-govts-murder-count-worse-useless
httparticleslatimescom2012jan11worldla-fg-mexico-dead-numbers-20120112
[5] httpwwwmixcloudcomdemomiltonmexican-moslem-
mixtapeutm_source=widgetamputm_medium=webamputm_campaign=flash_links
[6] httpwwwmixcloudcomdemomiltonmexican-moslem-
mixtapeutm_source=widgetamputm_medium=webamputm_campaign=flash_links
[7] Mexicanjihadtumblrcom
[8] Possible good photo essays to either include in the piece or link to
httpwwwtimecomtimephotogallery029307165142000html (notice the description is precisely the point of
criticism the idea of good versus evil
httpprojectslatimescommexico-drug-warits-a-war
httpwwwtheatlanticcominfocus201205mexicos-drug-war-50-000-dead-in-6-years100299
httpwwwbostoncombigpicture200903mexicos_drug_warhtml
[9] httptutvvideoshermano-de-patricia-gonzalez-la-pinata WARNING EXTREME VIOLENCE
[10] httpmexablogcommx20101019confesion-de-una-extorsionadora-antes-de-ser-ejecutada
[11] httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=EVF6qIEWFtI
httpdirgroupsyahoocomgroupJudgedMenAllianceForTomorrowmessage2671
[12] httppublicidadoficialcom-mxgastofederal
[13] httparticleslatimescom2011jun01worldla-fg-mexico-tv-series-20110602
[14] httporgnewswwwinsightcrime-briefscalderon-80-organized-crime-detainees-free
[15] httpwwwanimalpoliticocom20130798-de-los-homicidios-de-2012-en-la-impunidadaxzz2dstTiffa
Informacioacuten adicionalMichelle Garciacutea
2013
ETIQUETADO COMO VIOLENCE IN MEXICO VISUAL NARRATIVE WAR ON DRUGS
MAacuteS EN ESTA CATEGORIacuteA
laquo Poems About Loss
Like 77 people like this Be the first of yourfriends
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 55
ENVIAR COMENTARIO
volver arriba
DEJA UN COMENTARIOAseguacuterate de llenar la informacioacuten requerida marcada con () No estaacute permitido el Coacutedigo HTML Tu direccioacuten de correo NO
seraacute publicada
Mensaje
Escribe aquiacute tu mensaje
Nombre
escribe tu nombre
Escribe tu direccioacuten de correo electroacutenico
URL del sitio web
escribe la URL de tu sitio Web
Escribe las dos palabras que ves a continuacioacuten
Powered by 2B BARCELONA BOGOTA copy NUESTRA APARENTE RENDICION | 2010 All rights reserved
Escriba el texto
301013 Mexican Jihad
nuestraaparenterendicioncomindexphpblogs-okweary-bystanders-113item2029-mexican-jihad-documenting-the-visual-narrative-of-the-war-on-drugs 55
ENVIAR COMENTARIO
volver arriba
DEJA UN COMENTARIOAseguacuterate de llenar la informacioacuten requerida marcada con () No estaacute permitido el Coacutedigo HTML Tu direccioacuten de correo NO
seraacute publicada
Mensaje
Escribe aquiacute tu mensaje
Nombre
escribe tu nombre
Escribe tu direccioacuten de correo electroacutenico
URL del sitio web
escribe la URL de tu sitio Web
Escribe las dos palabras que ves a continuacioacuten
Powered by 2B BARCELONA BOGOTA copy NUESTRA APARENTE RENDICION | 2010 All rights reserved
Escriba el texto