The methodology used to study the case studies presented in the teaching material will be the development of an analysis matrix where the effects of the independent variables on the dependent variables will be reviewed before and after the application of a control variable.
The objective is to determine remarkable elements in each of the correlations, for later comparison with the other case studies.
The dependent variables are the questions (what, how, when, where, who, what for and why) that seek to identify each of the elements that are made up in each of the intersections, and that represent the different actions of the actors of the corresponding case studies. The independent variables are those that are identified in the table as primary, secondary and tertiary activities.
When referring to the primary activities, I define them as those actions that respond in the simplest and most practical way to each of the dependent variables (for example, when feeling identification with a soccer team, a primary activity would be to buy the shirt of said team to highlight that feeling in public). Secondary activities are those that are consequences after the application of the control variable, and that can trigger tertiary activities, which in this case, would be the use of physical violence as the last response of the actors in each case study. The control variable, in all cases, are the different ways in which the use of any type of verbal violence is evidenced.
The equation of the exercise has the following values:
- (A): primary activities (B): secondary activities (C): tertiary activities (Z): control variable
Under this logic, the possible scenarios are the following
- Scenario 1: If only (A), then (A) Scenario 2: If (A) + (Z), then (B) Scenario 3: If (A) + (Z) = a (B), then (B) + (Z) = (C) Scenario 4: If (A) + (Z) = a (B), then (B) + (Z) = (B)
In both scenarios 2 and 3, there is a possibility of staying in (B) or evolving to (C) after the application of (Z); however, it is not estimated that he can return to the first scenario.
Conceptual framework
When speaking of violence in this work, I take as a basis the definition given by the World Health Organization, which defines it as the “intentional use of physical force, threats against oneself, another person, a group or a community that has as consequence or is very likely to result in trauma, psychological damage, developmental problems or death ”(World Health Organization, 2017) and its nature can be physical, sexual or psychological.
Complementing this definition, the same organization categorizes it into three general groups, according to the characteristics of those who commit the act of violence (World Report on Violence and Health, 2017). Namely, they are as follows:
- Self-inflicted violence (suicidal behavior and self-harm), Interpersonal violence (family violence, which includes minors, couples and the elderly; as well as violence between unrelated people), Collective violence (social, political and economic).
Due to the characteristics of the cases studied, when mentioning verbal or physical violence, we refer to those that correspond to collective and interpersonal violence.
Additionally, when mentioning the use of physical violence, I base myself on the definition of Berro (2002) when he states that, in this type of violence, “the use of physical force, coercion and the achievement of certain purposes with some value for part of the aggressor, to maintain, modify or destroy a certain order of things, situations or values. "
By referring to the term “gangs” as a generic expression to the different groups of young people in the case studies, I mean the group of people who usually meet to carry out an activity, to associate for criminal purposes, to form a side, league or union around a specific objective that may vary depending on the context in which the term is applied (Dle.rae.es, 2017)
Both in the analysis matrix and in its subsequent exploration, when referring to the term culture of violence, I do so from the perspective of Fournier (1999) when he refers to it as “the violent response to conflicts is seen as something natural, normal and even as the only viable way to deal with problems and disputes. Violence is a behavior that still continues to act in our society as a means to resolve conflicts ”. Linked to this definition, when referring to the so-called invisible borders, which arise due to the culture of violence and the defense of gangs' territories, I am referring to the concept used in cities or areas in times of urban violence, which “ it delimits the passable public space with the areas dominated by a dominant armed group ”, Ruiz (2004).
Using the definition given by Pastor Palacios (2017), when speaking of barra bravas I mean the “violent groups organized within soccer fans, which can be distinguished by the flags they display and which identify them when they get to the stadium ”. In addition to this definition, with the focus of this work, it refers to the “space conquered by some of the young people who feel marginalized, in a search to become a separate people, since they consider that they are not allowed to be inside of society in its fullness ”(Recasens Salvo in News.bbc.co.uk, 2017)
When speaking of the war economy, within the context of the conflict between gangs, I approach it from Tokatlian's perspective, based on the Colombian political and drug trafficking conflict, when he calls it the type of economy “that is applied in historical moments of strong violent convulsions, whether or not they are armed conflicts, and which aims to maintain the functioning of economic activities as financing mechanisms to guarantee the continuity of war actions ”(Tokatlian, 1990).
CASE STUDY 1: BARRAS BRAVAS IN FOOTBALL
Context: soccer
Control variable: verbal violence
Actors of the conflict: the brave bars
Dependent variables: what, how, when, where, why and for what
Independent variables: primary, secondary and tertiary activities.
Objective of the actors: claim something or impose ideas
| Primary activities | Secondary activities | Tertiary activities | |
| Than | Cheer on your team | Throw artifacts
pyrotechnic |
Throwing items onto the field or between the stands, whether they are real or personal property |
| Sing songs of support for your team | Sing aggressive or degrading chants from the opposing team | For chants (symbolic acts) and to generate aggressions (physical acts) | |
| Dress in your team colors | Belittle or attack the colors of the opposing bars | Covering their faces or putting their symbols on their individual features to act as a group against the opposing bar | |
| They focus their attention on the football game | They focus their attention on the actions of
counter bars |
They threaten to interrupt the show by actions of the opposing bar, referee decisions, game situations, etc. | |
| When | Before and during the game | After the match | |
| Where | In the fan quarters | - | Outside the stadium or in their
vicinity |
| In the vicinity of the stadium | - | Common or traditional meeting points; public spaces such as squares or parks, usually far from houses. | |
| Inside the stadium, grouped in specific locations or stands | Meeting points, neighborhoods or
places that frequent the rival bar |
||
| How | They group together, meet or coordinate to observe a soccer game together at a date, place and
specific schedule |
Being grouped inside the stadium, all in the same vein and distorting as individuals to become part of the group | Through the use of force and the number of available members of the bar to perform actions led by the ultras that are distinguished as the most violent |
| Who | Team supporters | Aggressive young people who in addition to sympathizing, seek to "defend" their team's colors | Young people who are no longer only current to defend the honor of their team, but also become soldiers who seek to attack their opponents. |
| Inhabitants of the city or region that the team represents | People descendants of several generations belonging to the region, or with a strong affective bond with it. | ||
| For what | Show affection towards the symbolic representation of the team (colors, history, identity, philosophy, etc.). | Demonstrate power and authority over the space where they are, regardless of the actions on the field of play. I know
uses verbal violence |
Demonstrate strength and superiority over the other bar through the use of physical violence |
| Why | Because they have a feeling of belonging and pride in what their team symbolizes on an individual, family or social level. | It is used as an open stage where they can demand, demand, remember or express opinions regarding issues related to sport such as politics, historical events or old grudges. | As the last form of expression, a consequence of possible repressed attitudes or unresolved events in the recent history of the city / region |
In the first dependent variable (what) we can observe the evolution of the reactions from less violent to more violent after applying the control variable. We can observe how each of the categories evolves from simple actions, such as supporting a soccer team, to a more complex one that is the use of tools such as pyrotechnics to enhance that action, and a third that symbolizes not only support for the team, but to the direct intervention of the fan in the development of the game.
Perhaps this behavioral evolution can be seen more clearly in the second category. It begins with the intonation of songs of "support" to the team, a few seconds that are to attack the opponent, becoming a trigger that allows the passage of verbal violence in secondary activities, to physical violence in tertiary activities.
Another interesting aspect is to show the evolution of the following category, which addresses the issue of self-recognition and recognition of the other within the object of study. Among the primary activities, the most common of all is to wear the team colors on the clothing (assuming the colors as a method of identification and self-naming). After applying the control variable, we went from self-identification to non-recognition of the other; that is, its colors. Finally, after not recognizing the other, we find a particular situation in which people who identify with some colors seek to annul their individuality by highlighting with greater intensity the symbols that represent them to begin to act in a group.
To finalize the analysis of the first dependent variable, we find that while the primary activities in a soccer match are effectively focused on the show, after applying the control variable, the attention of the fans is focused on the other bars and tertiary activities correspond to the attempt to control the stage of primary activities (that is, the football match) to harm or influence actions that may result against the opposing bar.
Moving on to the second variable (when), we find that the primary and secondary activities are carried out before and during the sporting event, while the tertiary activities occur exclusively after it. In all types of activities, it is worth noting that the common denominator is the football match, so the actions are structured around the day, date and time it occurs.
In addition, the third variable (where) tells us that the primary and secondary activities occur or take place before and during the match, in the vicinity of the stadium, the fans' neighborhoods and on stage in specific and previously agreed locations. However, tertiary activities only occur once the match is over and it moves to the outskirts of the stadium and towards public places such as parks, squares and bars. However, it is worth clarifying, none of the tertiary activities happens in the neighborhoods or near the homes of the fans, as
In the fourth variable (how), we can identify another common element that occurs in all types of activities; to varying degrees, the activities occur in groups. However, according to the types of activities, we can differentiate the groups that carry out the primary actions, those that carry out the secondary and tertiary activities. In the first type of actions, although people group together in order to encourage their team, they still maintain their degrees of individuality; that is, they do not put their colors, shields or other symbols of their team before their person. Instead, when entering the detail of secondary or tertiary activities,We find that this quality is lost and is transformed into a collective (or group) mentality that coordinates them to defend themselves against opposing groups (feeling threatened thanks to verbal violence), and ultimately, to move from defense to attack in a massive way and led by actors of the conflict recognized as bold and violent.
Moving on to the fifth variable (Who), we can identify the actors who participate in the activities. In general, they are people linked to the region or city that the soccer team represents in the sporting competition. The majority of supporters, then, are city dwellers and it is presumed that they have been so for generations since the preference for their team can be influenced by family preferences or social groups. In the primary activities, we did not find any type of segmentation, since all those who belong to this category are generally sympathizers or fans of the team. However, in secondary and tertiary activities we can find that, in general,those who are part of them are young people with strong tendencies to aggression either verbally or physically. It is also denoted the easy transition between "defending" the symbols of the team, to go on to attack the symbols of the opposing team, beginning with verbal violence and ending with physical violence.
In the following variable (for what), we can identify the main objectives of the acts carried out in each of the independent variables. When checking the boxes of the primary activities, we find that the purpose of the people is, simply, the public display of affection towards a series of symbols that identifies them culturally, socially and historically and that are transposed as "values" that represent his soccer team.
But after the application of the control variable, we see that secondary actions no longer serve only to demonstrate this affection, but also to demonstrate power and authority on the sports scene (delimitation of territory and elaboration of invisible borders), and that they begin to be alien to or parallel to the sports show, taking us to the acts that are presented in tertiary activities; where the actions focus on demonstrating such acts of authority and power through the use of force and superiority before rival bars.
The last variable (why) allows us to infer in the first instance, the reasons why these groups act in one way or another within each of the categories of actions. In the primary actions, affective reasons that are linked to the mental representations of the team symbols at the individual, social and family levels prevail.
However, when reviewing the actions classified as secondary actions, we find that motivations transcend dimensions other than sports, using their team and all that it symbolizes as a vehicle to express opinions regarding issues such as historical events, political issues or old quarrels; for example, when one team reminds the other, through verbal violence, that the city their team represents participated in a political decision that affected them in different ways. A specific case is how some fans of certain teams accuse the fans of Real Madrid for having been one of the symbols of the dictatorship that affected so many in the past. These types of actions are the main motivation to carry out tertiary activities that,mostly, they seek the imposition of opinions, claims or demands through the use of violence.
- In exceptional cases, some groups develop philosophical, political and economic thoughts, but the main focus continues to be the appropriation and defense of the symbols that represent football teams in sporting activity, although in several cases the groups carry out activities in addition to those expressed in this analysis, such as drug trafficking, mechanisms of political pressure or types of hitmen, most of their actions are directly linked to the sporting matches of soccer teams.
- Any type of activity influenced in its beginning by verbal violence, can be maintained or evolve to others that use physical violence, but rarely return to the initial state. The radicalization of positions, although it begins with a simple identification and appropriation of symbols, can aggravated by the use of some type of violence, which invites people to react in defense and, possibly, attack others. Sport is only a vehicle to express ideas, opinions, discontent and other related aspects, which, Perhaps, they do not have other spaces to be expressed. Actions are always carried out in public spaces, but there is no tendency to develop them near the barristas' residences (that is, far from private property).I consider that the main objective of the actors in the conflict is to claim, declaim, demand or express their opinion on issues related to the region (political, social or economic), but that have no direct relationship with the football teams beyond the symbolic representation of The use of physical violence, as a mechanism of show of force, is the main tool for baristas to coordinate, organize, regulate and act.regulate and act.regulate and act.
CASE STUDY 2: GANGS IN ECUADOR
Context: cities and public spaces
Control variable: exclusion
Actors of the conflict: gang members
Dependent variables: what, how, when, where, why and for what
Independent variables: primary, secondary and tertiary activities.
Objective of the actors: the generation of ties of friendship and loyalty
| Primary activities | Secondary activities | Tertiary activities | ||||||
| Than | They meet in groups of young people who share the same social, economic and political context. | They articulate aesthetic ensembles to allow them to identify themselves as a member of a particular group and to defend themselves against other similar groups or the general population. | They resort to physical violence to protect their territory, their group or their symbolic elements of representation from social, state or other attacks
gangs |
|||||
| They develop their own cultural expressions such as rap and graffiti. | ||||||||
| When | Youth between 13 and 30 years of age | |||||||
| Where | They are grouped into specific neighborhoods within cities | They appropriate public spaces by imposing authority and power, assuming control of those who inhabit it and everything that happens within it. | Through the show of force and numerical superiority, they use violence to defend what they consider to be their territory demarcated through invisible borders. | |||||
| How | They are grouped around common symbols that can differentiate them from others; necklaces, drawings or tattoos. | They create admission processes similar to military baptisms, internalizing the differential characteristics of the group from hate speech. | They make use of physical violence, in addition to verbal violence, to defend themselves from other similar social groups, official or alien to the dynamics of the conflict. | |||||
| They develop their own communication codes, which can only be identified and interpreted by members of the same group. | ||||||||
| They organize into gangs of 20 to 30 people | Gang leaders are chosen on the basis of their seniority in the group or merit; bold acts, experience in the use of violence or leadership | Alliances are created with similar groups to establish macro organizations called nations, clans, associations and empires, which create invisible borders that give them authority and control of the territory, | ||||||
| through the use of violence. | ||||||||
| Who | Young people with low economic resources, without access to education or the possibility of working to change their reality. | |||||||
| For what | They seek to create bonds of friendship and brotherhood. | They seek to jointly defend themselves against those who seek to threaten, intervene or prohibit the creation of such ties. | They resort to physical violence if they have to defend this target, their territory, or their like in the gang. | |||||
| They constantly and collectively seek their goal in life; reasons to fight and reasons to live. | They organize and coordinate to carry out activities that allow them to survive and / or meet their immediate objectives. An example is theft, drug trafficking and the like. | |||||||
| By grouping together, they seek to fill the unfulfilled role of families and the state of protecting, regulating or directing them into the future. | ||||||||
| Why | Uncertainty of political, social and economic scenarios for young people in the medium and long term | They react by seeking to make themselves known to the indifference of the various actors on each stage, to find their own space to live, coexist, survive and express themselves based on their distinctive elements as a gang. | In this search, they usually resort to violence to defend themselves, but not to attack. | |||||
Analysis
In the first dependent variable (what), we can identify that the main activity of young people in gangs is, basically, meeting at a specific point; a public space within the framework of the territorial unit, in this case, of their neighborhood. After the application of the control variable, they seek not only to group together at one point, but they begin to characterize the personality of the group to configure what later becomes the values of the gang. Finally, they turn to tertiary activities as a defense mechanism against any real, potential, or infused threat from social groups such as neighbors, the state, and other gangs.
In the second variable (when), closely related to the fifth variable (who), it is evidenced that the members of these types of groups are in the transition from childhood-youth-adulthood; that is, of school or working age. None of the above activities are presumed to be possible or viable, so they choose to join a gang.
In the following variable (where), it allows us to identify that the gangs meet in their neighborhoods, making use of and appropriating public space to declare it as gang territory; together with the values of the gang and the creation of symbolic identification, the territory is the third bulwark to defend against external attacks.
Analyzing the fourth variable (how), the most representative in this case study, we find that not only do young people not only meet solely under the premise of sharing a common context, but they also do so for the configuration of identification symbols and recoding of language to generate sufficient elements that allow them to identify with each other, excluding others or those who do not belong to the gang. In addition to this, they give added value to the members of the gang, making them go through a series of sacrificial actions in order to belong to the group. In addition, they are capable of self-organizing under a hierarchy without regulations,that work through a form of meritocracy of those who are exceptional in specific fields such as the use of violence or leadership. Finally, another element that reappears in this variable is the grouping, both of the people of each gang, and of different gangs, to defend specific elements through the use of physical violence; the identity elements, the members of the groups and their corresponding territory. It is worth emphasizing that these actions occur under the logic of defense, but no intention of attacking other social actors is expressed.the identity elements, the members of the groups and their corresponding territory. It is worth emphasizing that these actions occur under the logic of defense, but no intention of attacking other social actors is expressed.the identity elements, the members of the groups and their corresponding territory. It is worth emphasizing that these actions occur under the logic of defense, but no intention of attacking other social actors is expressed.
When analyzing the reasons these young people have for grouping together (for what), we find that they fundamentally seek to replace the role that actors such as the family, society and the state have ceased to fulfill; Therefore, the creation of gangs, with their own social characteristics, seeks to meet the need of young people to have a socialization space where they are not excluded, are supported, their thoughts are taken into account, can defend themselves from threats and can project themselves, not as individuals but at a group level, in the medium and long term in order to survive trying to clear up the uncertainty coming from their environment in this way.
This uncertainty, precisely, is the main reason revealed by the last variable (why), when we identify this concept as the main reason why, due to the lack of options, young people decide to group together to be able to participate in their reality, going from being excluded to being excluded with those who are not part of their gang or their alliances.
Other considerations
- Although they meet and define themselves as a group, there is no glimpse of some kind of reflective activity that allows us to glimpse that they have a philosophy of life beyond loyalty and defense of the identity components of their gang. They do not propose or develop constructive alternatives to society in general; It is a closed, regulated and balanced environment through elements such as leadership and loyalty, but it does not intend to contribute to contexts outside of them The use of tertiary actions, based on the information found in the documents, is only used for defense purposes. At no time is it stated that violence is used for the purpose of attacking other groups, other types of illegal activities such as theft, damage to public property and drug trafficking,they are not essential actions for the operation of the gangs. These are collateral effects with which they seek to live and survive through a source of livelihood outside of work or study.
Conclusions
- Gangs in this case are conformed to substitute for the roles of other social actors in the lives of young people. Gangs are not simply casual encounters of young people. It is a group of complex dynamics, self-regulated, but without regulations, built from a series of symbols, communicative elements and their own rituals. Young gang members transform from being excluded by society, to beings exclusive within their parallel reality Although they have specific goals, in the long or medium term they do not have purposes of any kind as an organization, so we understand that they do not seek social transformation but rather survive in their micro (gang) and macro (alliance) organization. of gangs) According to the data obtained,In this case study, the gangs use violence as a defense mechanism, but not as a purpose to attack. They do not seek to be right or to impose their thinking; They look for spaces to express themselves, develop as individuals and project themselves as a community.
CASE STUDY 3: LAS MARAS IN HONDURAS
Context: Neighborhoods
Control variable: exclusion / stigmatization
Actors of the conflict: the maras
Dependent variables: what, how, when, where, why and for what
Independent variables: primary, secondary and tertiary activities. Objective of the actors: they seek protection of their internal environment and external context
| Primary activities | Secondary activities | Tertiary activities | |
| Than | Culturally speaking, the maras have common practices and values, they live in perfectly defined places, with similar responses that easily unite the interests and actions of individuals. For this reason, they are grouped in the first instance. | The ability to work, purchasing power, products and social economic trends take a back seat, giving greater importance to elements that reaffirm their power and authority in their social interactions based on the culture of violence; such as weapons, pistols or items that can be used in a violent way against another person. | In order to sustain the defense of their territory, both other gangs and the state have resorted to drug trafficking as a financing mechanism, thus creating a war economy capable not only of providing, but also of financially assuring the group's members. |
| When | The maras are located within a special transitory context. They grow and are located in a democratic transition where poverty, inequality, exoduses, family disintegration, environmental degradation and degrees of militarization (reprimand), educational and labor crisis were highly influential in the birth of these groups, and in personal development and social of the young people who composed them. | Since they did not find social mechanisms that would allow them to defend themselves against these aggressive changes that are generated in their context and environment, they are grouped into gangs to be able to face this type of situation and all the consequences that they deal with (such as
indifference and rejection) |
By consolidating as a gang, with their values, codes, languages and mechanisms of social interaction, they are treated as a problem whose only solution is extermination. The maras respond to this condemnation by using their social, physical and philosophical resources to respond to this threat based on interactions based on a culture of violence. |
| The biological boundary between childhood, youth and adulthood was practically blurred by the latent need to work despite age. |
| Where | They begin by grouping together in the few public spaces in their neighborhoods. | After organizing as a group, they begin to exercise authority, control and power over the spaces they use to meet and extend them, moving from specific places to entire neighborhoods in response to the control variable. | They create invisible borders to delimit their territory, and based on these, they defend what they consider to be a fundamental part of their gang regardless of the type of actions they have to resort to to defend it. |
| For them, their best place to be is the neighborhood for their own safety and survival interests. | |||
| How | Their social interactions are reactive and not reflective. | Reactive partial interactions begin to be based on non-recognition of the other, or tolerance of others. | With the difficulty of dialogue, dissections resort to the use of force as a reaction mechanism for the imposition of thought. |
| Their social norms begin with the creation of ties of loyalty. | After the application of the control variable, this loyalty evolves to the blind collaboration and without qualms on the part of the young people to the group. | Finally, they openly express their willingness to give their lives if necessary in order to defend their group or their territory. | |
| A fundamental element for their development as a group is their own jargon and sign language. | |||
| They begin fulfilling the role of victims, the product of a series of social injustices to which they are subjected. | The complicity and tolerance of both society and the state in their roles as regulators of society pushes them not to want to integrate into society. | They transform from victims to victimizers once they become part of a gang; abiding by their vision of the world, code, values and way of life. | |
| The gang members grew rapidly in self-esteem, until they became soldiers or warriors with their own code of ethics, so the general response has been to isolate them rather than include them. | |||
| Who | Young people, before becoming gangs, suffer conditioning and conflicts in family, school and social settings. | After becoming maras, they submit to the gang and suffer conditioning and conflicts within the gang. | Subsequently, they enter into conditioning and conflict when confronting other gangs, the police, society and their own families through physical violence. |
| The media launch information campaigns based on tabloid stories that magnify issues related to gangs. | The sensational news aggravated the stigmatization of the gangs, over-dimensioning all news that had to do with them, projecting them as strange, lost, irrational subjects and condemned to die prematurely. The published notes related to them always sought to highlight the age of those involved and their relationship with the violence | Stigmatization evolves into mechanisms of isolation and restriction of freedom by the different social actors, which end up being fundamental elements to strengthen their culture of violence. | ||
| Society did not give importance to these young people until, after joining, they became a threat, and now they are more inclined towards their extermination to solve the conflict. | ||||
| For what | They express their willingness to abandon their individuality, in order to be part of a group and submit to its will in order to feel protected. | After certain organizational rituals, they organize themselves to carry out concrete actions, but not projected in the future; such as the execution of robberies, extortion or intimidation. | ||
| School and teachers no longer have the same influence on the lives of young people. | These roles are replaced by other young people who impart new codes and new languages based on the culture of violence. | After the transformation of the roles, the new forms of socialization take over and spread, becoming a central element of the gang's personality. | ||
| The condition of the gangs begins to be built from their early interactions within the family under the logic of violence | Social interactions sharpen and extend from family to school | Finally, this type of socialization reaches the street, where gangs are formed that base their social interactions under the paradigm of the culture of violence, non-dialogue and intolerance. | ||
| Why | ||||
| They have difficulties to express themselves in their social settings such as family and school | The difficulties are not treated as problems with solutions, but as threats that must be exterminated. | |||
| Being young, they are subjected to rejection and are socially excluded. They are about a generation subjected to betrayals, dispossession and inequalities since childhood. A | In addition to rejection, they suffer from indifference by actors who are part of their personal and social life (state, neighborhood, citizens, etc.). | Rejection and indifference push them to create groups to protect themselves from this type of aggression, regardless of the methods used to safeguard their integrity. |
| childhood socialization marked by the harshness of life, deprivation and disaffection | Informally create hierarchical structures that lack concrete political, social, economic and ideological proposals | They are grouped seeking security that the family, society and the state do not offer them | |
| An accelerated transformation of social units is generated, such as neighborhoods, going from cohesion to extreme mistrust for new types of inhabitants (from other regions, with different codes and customs) that erased the old codes of socialization and behavior. | In this new society, the roles and subjects changed radically. Now the types of socialization are based on dispossession, aggression, violence, force, ferocity and fear | ||
| Young people were shedding traditional social and cultural ties in an accelerated process of identity stripping. | |||
| The young people who joined did so seeking protection, fleeing from total insecurity; merging self interests in group interests |
In the first variable (what), it is clearly manifested that the purpose of these young people when meeting, constitutes a manifest reaction to the environment they odea, grouping together with other young people who are similar when meeting, constitutes a manifest reaction to the surrounding environment, grouping with other young people who are in similar or equal conditions to identify, relate and thus, be able to begin to act in a joint and coordinated way to achieve common interests and purposes. It is also highlighted that, the young people who enter these groups, renounce their individual thought at various levels and begin to be part of a collective consciousness, within which they define, redefine or share symbolic and aspirational elements. Finally,With the firm purpose of defending these social constructs, they resort to the use of war tools, violence, and illegal activities to carry out their defense against external threats; other bands, society and state.
Moving on to the second variable (when), we can find several elements that preceded the creation of the gangs and that were the raw material for their birth and consolidation. In general terms, it can be affirmed that the transition to democracy was accompanied by extremely poor social, economic and political conditions, which is why the crisis that was generated in the Honduran inhabitants was so severe that the uncertainty surrounding survival was a subject of the first order, turning the general environment into one of a hostile type. For this reason, without economic, social or political perspectives, young people decide to group together to be able to defend themselves from the situation while feeling in some way supported by people in the same defenseless situation.
Because this reaction was made independently of the rest of society, which spent much of its time and language in the rejection and marginalization of this social phenomenon, the maras developed a parallel culture within the surrounding culture, within the which they built and signified symbolic and language elements to base their personality. As all these processes occurred in rejection of the attitudes of society in general, they based their social dynamics around the defense of their interests, always doing it in a reactive way, ignoring reflective spaces.
In the following variable (where), we can see what I consider to be one of the fundamental axes for the development of gangs as an alternative society together with the recoding of language and the appropriation of symbolic elements; the territory and territoriality of the group. As in other cases, the sublime importance of the groups is evident in defending what they consider to be their territory (in this specific case, the neighborhood). To do this, they develop a series of invisible borders within which they can exercise control, power and management of everything that happens within them. The territory factor is given such high importance because it represents the space where the main objective to be pursued by the gangs can occur; feel sheltered, protected and with better prospects to survive a hostile environment.
This point, that of defense as a tool to survive, can be explored a little more with the findings of the third variable (how). As mentioned, the social interactions of this group are based on the reactions under the logic of the culture of violence. These interactions are basically based on the non-recognition of the other, and the evident unwillingness to practice dialogue, which results in violent acts that highlight intolerance towards people or groups outside their logic.
Those interactions that are not framed in said purpose are used for the generation and appropriation of identity elements that help to build and consolidate the characteristics and / or personality of the group, causing the individual consciousness to be abandoned in order to articulate a collective consciousness within which concepts such as loyalty, blind collaboration and their willingness to defend as “soldiers to their homeland” the elements that make up the maras as an organized group.
It is also worth noting that all these processes are the product of the impersonation of the social roles of other actors that, thanks to their absence, young people seek to replace through the aforementioned processes in order to identify themselves, place themselves in a social context and finally, face the uncertainty of your future.
On reviewing the following variable, (who), we find that the main actors in this situation are not only gang members; from this moment they can begin to analyze as victims and perpetrators of their context.
The actions carried out by actors such as the press and the media, the state and society, who have been in charge of being the primary generators of violence from acts such as discrimination, rejection, stigmatization, indifference, are highlighted. etc. It can be analyzed that the defensive acts of the gangs occur as an immediate response to these attitudes. In other words, although the youth of the gangs can be seen as the main perpetrators, the causes of the conflict are perpetrated by these types of actors, so their role in the conflict can be interpreted as victims of an exclusive social environment.
When analyzing the reasons in the category (for what), these groups exist with the express purpose of protecting themselves as a group, demonstrating strength and capacity for action through the perpetration of acts with physical and verbal violence. With this objective, and with the absence of cohesive elements such as philosophy, political position or ideology, all the methods used to achieve it are acceptable as long as they are effective (alluding to the use of violence or the development of illegal activities). It is also highlighted that the creation of this type of group appears before the latent need to replace the “guide” roles of young people (teachers, school or families), in order to face their survival in their territory.
Finally, when analyzing the last variable (why), we find that gangs organize, in addition to defending themselves from their environment, to seek spaces for expression denied in other settings (family, neighbors, school, state, democracy, etc.). Also that they were born as a product of the difficult conditions during the youth of their members, framed in abrupt changes in the economic, social and political systems, and that they are the response to the criticism, persecution, rejection or indifference of the general population that is He refused for many years (we even considered it a threat) to recognize them, respect them, listen to them or include them again in society.
It is worth highlighting its role change from victims to perpetrators, the reworking of social interactions under new paradigms, and going from being a group subjected to isolation, to one that controls and dominates territories based on force, intolerance and non-tolerance. recognition of the other; roughly, a revenge for what society did with them for a long time.
- It is the only case in which officially, a group of these characteristics resorts to illicit activities for profit. However, it is worth clarifying that the profits of this war economy are not focused on an individual or on the acquisition of movable or immovable property; It is used as a mechanism to continue financing its defense operations.Unlike other case studies, in this one we can see that, despite not having a common philosophy or ideology, the gang has been in charge of replacing the roles of former actors in order to ensure their survival to a greater extent. In other words, they not only change their reality internally as an organization, but they also do so in other spaces where they exert influence such as families, neighbors and schools.
- The gangs are the product of the exclusion from society of a series of young people with characteristics that did not fit within social standards Their group responds to the need for protection against an uncertain future and a sharply fluctuating reality In addition to protecting themselves, they seek to ensure their subsistence through starting from alternative acts to work or study Its most important elements are language, gestures, symbols and territory; who must defend at the cost of their own lives if they want to be part of the group and protected by it They are not interested in changing their environment, but in controlling it Intolerance, non-recognition of the other and the culture of violence are a reactive response to the marginalization, stigmatization, judgments and the like of society,The state and actors attached to them are not interested in building a joint future, but rather focus their efforts on reaching one.
POINTS IN COMMON BETWEEN THE CASES STUDIED
| Similarities | Barras Bravas | Gangs Ecuador | Maras Honduras |
| Than | 1. Everyone is grouped around a particular theme
2. The groups are made up of people with great similarities in their social and economic contexts, political 3. Express a joint idea, or demonstrate a group point of view 4. They articulate aesthetic, mental and symbolic behaviors to differentiate themselves from other groups present in the same setting. 5. After the application of a control variable that alters the primary actions, acts allusive to verbal or physical violence usually occur. 6. Except for brave bars, violent actions of any kind are carried out in defense, not in attack 7. In all cases, the group and its expressions seek to highlight power and authority over a space, activity, set of symbolic elements, beliefs, events, symbols or activities, and make them valid or effective through the use of force and superiority 8. They carry out coordinated but mediated actions, but not projected in the future. That is, they look for a way to survive to reach a future, but they are not in charge of building or building one by themselves. 9. In no case, except for an example of a barra brava, do these groups show or evidence the construction of a political, economic or philosophical ideology 10.In none of the cases, drug trafficking, kidnappings, extortion or other forms of violence, are present as specific objectives of the groups. Although these come to pass as a response to a specific circumstance, they are not about the aims of the groups, despite the fact that they are possible mechanisms to sustain the violent acts of defense mentioned above. |
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| When | 1. The actions of the groups take place in specific contexts, which are loaded with historical, symbolic and well-documented rivalry elements. In other words, in none of the cases do the actions of the groups occur spontaneously, but rather respond to a defined historical and contextual framework.
2. The activities of the groups, except the brave bars, take place on the eve of a certain event. As mentioned, the actions of most groups are carried out as a defense, so the acts that compose them are done prior to an event (or `possible attack). They could be called a type of preventive and anticipatory violence. In the case of the brave bars, this type of coordinated actions of the fans (whether secondary or tertiary), occur during and after a specific event. |
| Where | 1. In all cases, there is a strong tendency towards the delimitation of spaces. These territories, of which the groups appropriate to control (not only the space but everything that happens within it), are the main stage where the social dynamics of these groups take place.
2. These territories, in addition to other identity elements, generate in all groups a need to defend, regardless of the costs or consequences, what they consider theirs, and that is in constant threat, fictitious or real, by other groups. 3. Additionally, it is emphasized that all the spaces where the social dynamics of the groups are generated are public spaces (including the sports scene), but they never take place in the vicinity of the houses of the conflict actors, or on their properties. private. |
| How | 1. In all cases, at some point, the individual personality is annulled in order to prioritize and weight the collective mentality
2. In all cases, the groups are led by people who are normally recognized for their audacity, previous history in the group or use of violence as a means of demonstrating power. 3. In all cases, a re-meaning of concepts and terms is generated to some degree to appropriate them based on group thinking 4. In all cases, there is the creation of communicative elements both verbal, such as words, jargons, aliases, songs or double meaning codes, as well as bodily such as greetings, movements or signals 5. Symbolic visual elements are also generated, disseminated and appropriated, in form or colors, which allow the identification of the members of the groups. 6. Likewise, in all the cases reviewed, to some degree, a replacement of the traditional social roles of leadership and regulation is generated, for the fulfillment or coordination of the actions of the groups. 7. All groups, specifically their actions, are always born after external aggression, whether in the form of rejection, marginalization, stigmatization, threat or censorship by other groups. |
| Who | 1. All the members of the groups studied are young people who are making the transition between childhood, adolescence and adulthood.
2. In all cases, the members of the groups have a marked tendency to have low education, low socio-economic level, few prospects for the future and problems at the family level. 3. All the members of the groups tend to abandon their individual personalities, except the leaders, to succumb to the collective personality of the group; supporting their actions under the paradigm of violence as a culture, intolerance and extremism as a defense mechanism for what they identify as their property (territory, symbols or other members of the group). |
| For what | 1. The groups develop their actions to demonstrate strength and control of the elements that represent them and with which they feel identified, at the same time that they do so to demonstrate, through force, superiority over other groups or actors that participate in the social dynamics
2. They seek to protect themselves from attacks from other similar groups, the state or society 3. They seek to create spaces where they can express themselves, demand, complain or be part of socialization dynamics without suffering rejection or marginalization 4. Groups normally base their actions on the defense of their components, but not on the attack or conquest of components of other groups. The only thing that could be interpreted as such is, in the football match, the competitive fight for victory, but these types of actions are outside the activities of the groups that are created around this type of events. |
| Why | 1. In all cases, groups become violent either in verbal or physical degrees, when they are provoked, mocked, excluded or isolated from the rest of society either orally through names or qualifications, acts such as indifference or contempt, or excluded by force due to their economic, social or military situation
2. In all cases, there are two constant elements that function as possible causes for the formation of these groups in a reactive way; all are born due to an unmet need to protect the environment, and an unmet need to let them express themselves on issues that concern or affect them. 3. They are condemned and stigmatized by the general society or actors attached to them (such as other citizens, the state, politicians, the police, the media, etc.), who prefer to exterminate them or not recognize them instead of talking and seeking reinsert them into society. |
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CASES STUDIED
| Differences | Barras Bravas | Gangs Ecuador | Maras Honduras | |
| Than | 1. Brave bars, in comparison to gangs, base their actions around a specific event and represented by third parties. In other words, although they are the fans who support a soccer team and all the symbols that it carries, on the field, it is the players who “represent” the “battle” in the sporting aspect. On the other hand, the gangs are themselves the protagonists of their social processes, and they do not meet or organize around the activities of third parties.
2. While the rough bars are grouped around the search for a victory, which in simple terms is a moment of joy in short terms, the gangs are looking for a mechanism to live and survive, so we can say that while people They are able to choose whether or not to belong to the rough bars without fear of losing fundamental elements such as life, in gangs, the option of belonging to them or not is more closed, since aspects such as security, protection and people's lives are at stake. 3. Although, in summary, we could say that all groups are created to seek spaces to express themselves (since the tendency is that this type of young people do not have the possibility of expressing themselves freely) and support to protect themselves, the objectives of each of the groups vary from the analysis performed. Thus, the groups mainly seek the following elements: • Barras bravas: claim or impose ideas • Gangs of Ecuador: generation of ties of love and friendship (socialization without marginalization) • The maras in Honduras: protection of their internal environment and their external context |
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| When | 1. Unlike the gangs, the bull bars are more specific in their actions, because they act around a specific event (with time and date). The gangs do not have specific events since their condition is not momentary but for life; everyday.
2. Except for the rogue bars, which are the only ones in the studied cases that organize to attack, the violent acts of gangs occur only when defending themselves against real or unfounded threats from other social actors. |
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| Where | 1. Although all groups make predominant use of public places, such as plazas, stadiums, parks, sidewalks, etc., the gangs are much more territorial than the bulls. These permanently generate a series of invisible borders to delimit their territory; usually a specific point in a city such as a neighborhood or district.
2. Brave bars, on the other hand, are located in much smaller points, such as locations within the stadium or certain public spaces, and they go to them momentarily, but they do not intend to control or surround them as gangs do. Once again, the rough bars are grouped momentarily around an event, while the gangs group together as a way of life. |
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| How | 1. For the brave bars, the use of widely disseminated colors and symbologies predominates to be able to feel appropriation and | |||
| identification with visual elements; a shield, a flag, the color and shape of a uniform. | ||||
| two. | Instead, gangs opt more for the elaboration of their own codes such as jargon, body signals and re-meanings of language. | |||
| 3. | While the barbarians use their communication (for example, the songs) as a form of expression to encourage their team or attack the opponents, the gangs use it as a method of expression through which they seek to highlight their opinions, deficiencies, lawsuits and the like (through graffiti, break dance or lyrical rap). | |||
| Four. | Although all of them, we could say, have initiation rituals and require a degree of dedication from individuals to the group, in the brave bars aspects such as loyalty and love are given to the symbols that represent them (their soccer team), whereas in gangs, these elements are handed over to the group itself and its members; not to an outside cause like a soccer team. | |||
| 5. | Unlike the barra bravas, whose actions are framed within the defense of their team and what it symbolizes for them as individuals, the defense actions of the gangs respond to a series of arbitrariness and social injustices of the society before them, and that they seek to protect the group of which they are part, their territory and the other members that coexist with them. | |||
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6. |
In the barra bravas, the members of the group share a space of time, while in the gangs, their members coexist daily. | |||
| Who | • | Although most are young, the gangs can be made up of a type of mixed society (that is, with different social and economic contexts) given that they are grouped around a specific cause, while gangs are made up of people who share more things than love for a symbol (team). | ||
| For what | • | How it has been expressed in the variable (what), the objectives of each group are different. Therefore, to finish clarifying this variable, we could say that while the actions of the bars are grouped around the support of their reason for meeting (soccer team) and the aggression against rival groups, the gangs carry out their actions to protect yourself from the context and open spaces for expression. | ||
| Why | 1. While the barbarians are organized around a sports competition that contains historical and political nuances, gangs are born due to being born around a series of situations framed within social injustice and uncertainty. These are two very different reasons for being able to measure themselves in the same way, despite the fact that in both cases, young people are grouped to act in a coordinated way and often interact socially using violence as a vehicle.
2. As has been repeated before, the gangs organize to defend themselves, seek a life goal, feel safe and survive, while the brave bars gather to support a specific common goal, attack their rivals and impose themselves on others. groups. |
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Preparation of proposals
Each conflict, despite its similarities, must be treated differently since it is the product of its own reality and historical development. However, a category that could be found present in all the cases studied is the possibility that the members of these groups find spaces and mechanisms to express themselves. What is proposed as one of the general axes to achieve the transformation of the conflict, then, is the use of communication as a construction tool.
Although before reaching this point, it should be borne in mind that not only should work with youth groups, but also with the context that surrounds them. For this, it is necessary to change the type of communication with which the different actors in the conflict interact (gangs, the media, politicians, police, families, etc.) to eliminate the variable of verbal violence, and thus, recognizing them as human beings (with dreams, objectives, goals and thoughts), begin to work in community (that is, in common unity) in the analysis, treatment, management and verification of possible solutions to problems.
It must start from the fact that each group has something to say and has its own codes and rituals to do it (slang, rap, graffiti or dances). The socialization of these types of expressions and the sharing of their messages are highly positive elements to meet the need that these groups have to express themselves. A well-executed example of this type of tactics can be seen in the case of Ecuador; all actions are articulated around the generation of spaces and mechanisms for groups to express themselves, and the change of communication (concepts, references and labels) for the integration of the community based on respect and tolerance.
In the case of the barra bravas, the conflicts that are generated through their confrontations are a good source of information on the type of issues, problems or grudges that exist behind the historical evolution of each region represented by its soccer team. It is free and first-hand information about what citizens feel in a moment of euphoria, so this type of communication should be taken to analyze them and generate public policies that seek to solve them.
The main thing, from my point of view, is to re-codify the terms and meanings that both they and we use to address the problems, and conceive a type of communication (as a literary manual) in which the use of possible possibilities is eliminated. triggers (words or expressions) that transform primary, secondary or tertiary actions. Likewise, it is also worth repeating that this work is not only with the aforementioned groups, but that they have to be developed in a coordinated and parallel way with the rest of the actors that make up the contexts where conflicts take place.
Another common point among the cases studied is the general feeling of being constantly threatened or at risk. Undoubtedly, despite the interventions that can be made in the groups on this issue, protection or security is a matter that must be worked on from the state through the mechanisms that the country has designed for it. This work, exhausted and that could only yield results in the medium and long term due to the low credibility of those affected in the states that have long been absent in their realities, must be carried out from the legal scenarios to give future actions the necessary robustness and, Most of all, they must be communicated to those affected by languages they use so that they can be understood and appropriate.
A great opportunity, added to the tactics of expression and communication previously exposed, could be the opening of spaces where the community itself can be a participant in the elaboration of state processes, participants and observers of their development and, above all, convert them into agents of change to solve immediate problems and begin to build strategies for the prevention of similar situations in the future.
In the case of the rough bars, I consider that the aggressions are the escape tube of the different social situations in which their members live, and that they cannot be expressed in other spaces; ending by using sporting events as tools to let out all that they carry inside and that they cannot say. To improve the feeling of security, it will be necessary to find the causes (not from the point of view of the authorities, but of the members of the rough bars themselves) for which there is this feeling of insecurity or that others are always attentive to attack them (be it true or lie). Here, the public power must “win over” its citizens to obtain their collaboration and this is not achieved through imposition,but by working together and making them part of the social processes for solving problems.
With respect to this issue, I consider that it is not pertinent to carry out actions that seek to modify their objectives as groups (based on my analysis), but rather to find a way to solve them to prevent their harmful effects from continuing to affect society. That is, we have spoken throughout the course that conflicts should not necessarily be considered as something negative, but that they can be a good tool for generating solutions. In this sense, I believe that conflicts should not be annulled but changed scenarios and re-meanings so that they work for society. I believe that conflicts are inherent to the human condition and that they arise as a result of their interactions, so removing this element from the panorama would result in something harmful to society. Instead,If the ways in which these occur are changed, surely more will be done to solve the problem than to shut up and ignore it; The groups must continue to confront each other, but using non-violent tools.
Once again, this is just a concept since each conflict has its own characteristics, but what I wanted to express at this point is that it is not necessary to prevent conflicts from happening, they are necessary for our evolution as a society. What needs to be changed is the way they are carried out, and hence the ideas presented in the two previous sections take on importance. Communication, tolerance and the involvement of actors (society, gangs, authorities, fanatics, etc.) are the best and only tools not only to stop a conflict but to learn to prevent it.
Finally, I would like to propose a methodology for the management and resolution of the conflict that I have been developing since the beginning of the course, and that I consider applicable as a navigation map to propose in this section of proposals:
| Phase | Description | Goal | |
| 1. Intervene | •
• • |
It is about studying and inserting oneself into the latent conflict to understand the parties involved.
Work is being done to find a primary agreement to stop the violent actions It is proposed to carry out a joint work to identify the problem, the actors involved, the existing demands and a possible work program. |
- Stop violent actions
- Propose a work program |
| 2. Transform | •
• |
It is about transforming the concepts, terms and forms of communication between the actors involved in the conflict.
This requires knowing who they are, how they act, how they speak, how they express themselves and the understanding of what they understand, how they assume it and how they respond to the proposals that are given to them. |
- Eliminate elements of verbal violence
- Begin to generate unity from the use of a non-violent communication |
| 3. Involve | •
• |
It must be understood that the success of conflict management depends on the actors involved. It is to make it clear that the actions to be taken are by and for them, so when the negotiators are absent, they will have to take charge of the processes to move forward.
All the achievements, problems and solutions of the process must be assumed, celebrated or reviewed by members of the same community. In this way, they are granted a state of self-sufficiency that does not require the intervention of third parties. |
- Involve the actors of the process in the search for solutions
- Commit them to work together, since the result will depend on them - Eliminate the concept of dependence on third parties for the consolidation of management processes of conflicts |
| 4. Negotiate | • | This phase is important because it is where the results of the previous phases must be synthesized. In addition, a solemn and meaningful act is required so that what is expressed in a document where the commitments or results of the negotiation are listed, is appropriate and treated with great responsibility by the actors in the conflict. | - Generation of commitments
- Ownership of the process and results. |
| 5. Monitor | •
• |
In this phase, it is sought that the same actors who were involved throughout the process, monitor the development of the actions that seek to achieve the acquired commitments. In addition, it makes them agents of change who, added to their authority before their own groups, can have a positive influence on more people.
In this way, in addition to solving specific problems, involving stakeholders and evaluating commitments, it can become a first step in generating actions that prevent conflicts or similar problems in the future. |
- Verification of compliance with agreements
- Transformation of the actors of the conflict, to agents of change - Promote this phase as a first step to prevent future conflicts. |
Bibliography
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- The hit man is a crime in which commissioned killings are carried out, which in most cases, young people are recruited.
