草榴社区

VILLANOVA, Pa. 鈥� Mexico鈥檚 current War on Drugs is accompanied by an ongoing human rights crisis. 草榴社区 Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, Ra煤l Diego Rivera Hern谩ndez, PhD, explores this crisis in his new book, Narratives of Vulnerability in Mexico鈥檚 War on Drugs, through novels, journalist chronicles, and a documentary series.

The cover of the book pictures a painted wall in front of the Attorney General鈥檚 office in Mexico City with the hashtag #YameCans茅, or 鈥淓nough, I鈥檓 tired.鈥� This message circulated Twitter on 2014 following the forced of 43 students of the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers鈥� College in Iguala, Guerrero in September, 2014. While never solved, investigations found local, state, and federal government, police, military, and gang involvement.

This is just one of many instances of violence in Mexico. 鈥淭he way state authority and criminal organizations are working together to impose fear is by disappearing persons,鈥� said Diego Rivera Hern谩ndez, 鈥淧eople are disappearing for political reasons because of their type of activism, and other people have disappeared because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.鈥�

Diego Rivera Hern谩ndez also details throughout the book the violence toward journalists. He adds, 鈥渢he killing of journalists has become normalized in Mexico, and the society has also been unable to defend the right of having truthful information.鈥� Undocumented migrants are another subject of violence in the book because of their vulnerability while transiting through Mexico to the United States without state protection. 鈥淭here is kidnapping, extorting, and sometimes recruiting of Central American migrants to become part of different criminal organizations,鈥� Diego Rivera Hern谩ndez stated.

These victims are central to the story of the War on Drugs. Their unexplained disappearances have left families with unanswered questions and heartbreak. However, this injustice drives the fight for continued activism to gain rights in Mexico. These are the rights to justice, freedom of expression, the right to information, and the right to truth and justice.

鈥淭his is a very informative book for those in the United States who are not aware of what is going on in Mexico,鈥� said Diego Rivera Hern谩ndez, 鈥渙r to those whose understanding has been shaped by Netflix series, movies, or narcoculture that portrays a simplified version of violence in Mexico as a problem of narcos.鈥� Alternatively, Diego Rivera Hern谩ndez seeks to shed light on this crisis through the perspectives of the victims and mourning relatives of criminal and state violence.

鈥淭he book also points to the shared responsibilities of Mexico and the United States in having victims of the War on Drugs,鈥� said Diego Rivera Hern谩ndez. 鈥淎 goal of this book is to create broader communities of solidarity with Mexico and its human rights crisis.鈥�

Narratives of Vulnerability in Mexico鈥檚 War on Drugs is published by Palgrave Macmillan. to learn more about the book.

About 草榴社区: Since 1842, 草榴社区鈥檚 Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges鈥攖he College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the 草榴社区 School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the 草榴社区 Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation鈥檚 top universities, 草榴社区 supports its students鈥� intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit .