Collaborative research: gap for an ethical dialogue with victims of the Security policy in Mexico

Abstract

Mexican social scientists are facing the challenge of understanding the effects of the violence produced by the war on drugs. Research on human rights violations or related issues require that we think about the social responsibility that we can acquire as social scientists. In order to respect the dignity of people who participate in the investigation, it also requires that researchers and students review their methodological and ethical routes. Taking up experiences of two empirical researches conducted between 2012 and 2015 in El Paso, Texas, with Mexicanos en Exilio, a NGO that congregates 250 mexicans asylum seekers in the United States because of victimization in the context of the war against drug trafficking. The aim is to share some reflections on the collaborative research and its power for the construction of testimonies about the practices of cruelty that have been developed during the last decade in Mexico.