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Compound players and emotional arenas: The self-identification of the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity in Mexico

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Johan Gordillo-García
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Abstract

After the Mexican ex-president Felipe Calderón declared a 'war' against criminal organisations , the number of murders and people reported as disappeared increased steadily in the country. However, the authorities constantly ensured that these crimes occurred exclusively among criminals. This narrative was fractured when, after the murder of his son in 2011, the poet Javier Sicilia started leading the protests of activists, relatives of victims and social organisations from virtually all of Mexico. After some mobilisations, they adopted the name Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD). Following a 'players and arenas' understanding of social movements, I analyse the formation of the MPJD as a self-identified compound player. First, I explore the structural and agency elements in the participants' backgrounds. Then, I discuss how the emotional content of the interactions in public demonstrations influenced their relationships developing a sense of community that fostered their identification as part of the MPJD. Overall, this study advances a micro-level perspective to understand the dynamics of collective action.
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Compound players
and emotional arenas:
The self-identification of the
Movement for Peace
with Justice and Dignity
in Mexico
Johan Gordillo-García
School of Social and Political Science, The University of
Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK;
Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales, Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México, Ciudad de Mexico, México
Abstract
After the Mexican ex-president Felipe Calderón declared a ‘war’against criminal orga-
nisations, the number of murders and people reported as disappeared increased steadily
in the country. However, the authorities constantly ensured that these crimes occurred
exclusively among criminals. This narrative was fractured when, after the murder of his
son in 2011, the poet Javier Sicilia started leading the protests of activists, relatives of
victims and social organisations from virtually all of Mexico. After some mobilisations,
they adopted the name Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD).
Following a ‘players and arenas’understanding of social movements, I analyse the forma-
tion of the MPJD as a self-identified compound player. First, I explore the structural and
agency elements in the participants’backgrounds. Then, I discuss how the emotional
content of the interactions in public demonstrations influenced their relationships devel-
oping a sense of community that fostered their identification as part of the MPJD.
Overall, this study advances a micro-level perspective to understand the dynamics of
collective action.
Corresponding author:
Johan Gordillo-García, Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales, Circuito Maestro Mario de la Cueva s/n Ciudad de
la Investigación en Humanidades, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico.
Email: johangordillogarcia@gmail.com
Article
Irish Journal of Sociology
1–18
© The Author(s) 2024
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/07916035241256204
journals.sagepub.com/home/irj
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