MEXICO: Communities Up in Arms

Mexican historian Lorena Ojeda describes the context that led to the rise of indigenous community guards and mestizo self-defense groups in the Mexican state of Michoacán.

The emergence of armed self-defense groups in the state of Michoacán has catapulted the region to the top of the Mexican federal government’s list of security concerns. Not all of these groups are alike, however. While the indigenous P’urhépecha community guards and the mestizo self-defense groups share many common grievances, they have arisen in response to different histories and different contemporary circumstances.