Power in the streets of Cuauhtémoc : violence, public space, social capital and discrimination

Abstract

One of the lines of research of El Colegio de México’s Seminar on Violence and Peace (SVyP) is the role played by citizens and society in constructing dynamics that foster peace or violence. As part of this approach, this text examines three case studies in the borough of Cuauhtémoc in Mexico City: a resident of the Condesa neighborhood who confronts raw urbanism, a defender of transsexual sex workers, and a drugs vendor. The results enable us to move towards a better understanding of motives that lead people to organize in favor of the democratic rule of law, or of delinquency.