Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-13-2023
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Criminal Justice and Legal Studies
First Advisor
Wesley Yates
Second Advisor
Linda Keena
Third Advisor
Doug Sullivan-Gonzalez
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Exploring the role of women in Mexican drug trafficking organizations is a topic that has gained significant traction in the past 30 years. Despite the increase of literature on the topic, few papers theorize as to why women participate. This product sought to explore the various reasons why women participate in Mexican drug trafficking organizations, either willingly, or against their wishes. We hypothesized that women join drug trafficking organizations for two primary reasons: a) they are coerced by male figures in their life, and b.) they participate willingly in an effort to gain economic mobility. To test our hypothesis, we utilized open-source information on a variety of issues facing women in Mexico such as single motherhood, education disparities, domestic violence, the gender wage gap, femicide, as well as other economic data trends. We also utilized anecdotal evidence and conducted case studies on a variety of predominant women associated with the Sinaloa cartel. We determined that single motherhood had a large impact on a woman's decision to engage in cartel activity as a result of poor economic opportunities caused by sexism and machismo culture in Mexico. Some women were able to subvert this lack of agency for their own benefit and effectively utilized patriarchal structures present for their own benefit, gaining economic opportunities through their relationships with male cartel members. After reviewing our research, we found that our hypothesis of coercive participation did not fully encompass all women’s experiences; we concluded that the term exploitation was better suited. This was largely in part due to the consistent violence perpetrated against women, and our analysis of scholastic opinions on incarceration. This paper examined what economic factors lead women to participate in such activities and can be used to further examine female agency in the world of drug trafficking in Mexico.
Recommended Citation
Page, Catherine and Hertz, Kennady Leigh, "The Evolving Role of Women in the Sinaloa Cartel: An Analysis of the Relationship between Drug Trafficking Organizations, Female Agency, and Economic Mobility" (2023). Honors Theses. 2974.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2974
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