Narcoculture in Mexico: The psychosocial implications of drug trafficking

Dr. David Moreno Candil, Department of Humanities and Behavioral Cience (Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades) of The Universidad Autonoma de Occidente (Sinaloa, Mexico)

Abstract: Drug trafficking is a social phenomenon with strong historical roots in Mexico, throughout its history this activity has gone from being permitted to persecuted, and, although currently there`s great concern regarding health issues associated to the COVID-19 pandemic, drug related violence has not diminished and still remains as one of the nation’s more serious problems. The purpose of this talk is to discuss some of the psychosocial effects of the prolonged presence, and most of all, interaction that Mexican society has had with the illegal drug business. The talk is divided in two sections: first, a brief exposition of the historical development of drug trafficking in Mexico; and second, and perhaps the main focus of the talk, a presentation of some of the research that I`ve conducted regarding how everyday people make sense of an illegal activity and an extremely violent reality.