Rural civil society in a mexican narco-violent border: some initial reflections

Abstract

Why the border rural civil society in Tamaulipas has not been organized to combat the narco-violence that has severely affected agricultural activities in the main producing region of sorghum in Mexico? To answer this concern, the reflection focuses on the concept of civil society, the characteristics of rural civil society in the region under study and three deeply rooted sociocultural traits in the frontier region: associationism and individualism that are constitutive of agricultural production and illegality that has been essential to the spread of narco-violence. The analysis relies on a qualitative methodological strategy; specifically, the information was collected through semi-structured, focused and in-depth interviews that were made to key informants involved in the dynamization of the regional sorghum’s product system (cultivation and marketing of the grain).