Are Truth and Justice Attainable in Times of Criminal Violence? Global Challenges and Lessons from Mexico and Colombia

SPEAKER: Mónica Serrano, Colegio de México

DISCUSSANT: Wil Pansters, Utrecht University

DATE: 18 October 2024

ACTIVITY: CEDLA LECTURE

Recent surveys conducted in 18 countries across Latin America suggest that 13% of respondents—representing nearly 80 million people—acknowledged the role of local criminal groups in order-provision and crime control and/or reduction. Criminal governance, that is the imposition through consent and/or coercion of rules and restrictions by an armed criminal group over communities and civilians has long challenged state authority in both Mexico and Colombia and provided the context for serious human rights violations and atrocities.

Demobilization and reintegration processes in Colombia, first involving the paramilitary and subsequently insurgent forces have confronted victims, citizens, and authorities with thorny human rights dilemmas. While in Mexico, ten years of investigation around the Ayotzinapa case have highlighted the intractable difficulties facing atrocity investigations in contexts of political-criminal violence.

What are the prospects for truth and justice in contexts of criminal violence? Can truth and justice be reconciled in such contexts? To help answer these questions this presentation will assess and compare the experiences of transitional justice in contexts of criminal violence in Colombia and Mexico.