Mano Dura: The Politics of Gang Control in El Salvador - Softcover

Wolf, Sonja

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1477311661 ISBN 13: 9781477311660

Publisher: University of Texas Press, 2017

Synopsis

In 1992, at the end of a twelve-year civil war, El Salvador was poised for a transition to democracy. Yet, after longstanding dominance by a small oligarchy that continually used violence to repress popular resistance, El Salvador’s democracy has proven to be a fragile one, as social ills (poverty chief among them) have given rise to neighborhoods where gang activity now thrives. Mano Dura examines the ways in which the ruling ARENA party used gang violence to solidify political power in the hands of the elite—culminating in draconian “iron fist” antigang policies that undermine human rights while ultimately doing little to address the roots of gang membership.

Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork and policy analysis, Mano Dura examines the activities of three nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that have advocated for more nuanced policies to eradicate gangs and the societal issues that are both a cause and an effect of gang proliferation. While other studies of street gangs have focused on relatively distant countries such as Colombia, Argentina, and Jamaica, Sonja Wolf’s research takes us to a country closer to the United States, where forced deportation has brought with it US gang culture. Charting the limited success of NGOs in influencing El Salvador’s security policies, the book brings to light key contextual aspects—including myopic media coverage and the ironic populist support for ARENA, despite the party’s protection of the elite at the expense of the greater society.

About this title

About the Author:

Sonja Wolf is a CONACYT research fellow with the Drug Policy Program at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas.

Review:

"Wolf utilizes her vast experience and research to provide a comprehensive account of gang violence and state policy in El Salvador. In her rich, qualitative analysis, Wolf does an excellent job of contextualizing contemporary crime control policy against a broader historical backdrop." (Choice Reviews 2017-05-06)

"Well-researched, well-written and comprehensive; a measured piece of scholarship, robust and calibrated...It [takes] a quietly devastating approach, unspairing in its critique, unflinching in its analysis and unadorned in its appraisal. After working through these chapters, there are few stones left unturned." (British Journal of Criminology 2019-03-26)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1477311661
• ISBN 13: 9781477311660
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 322