Victim Activists in Mexico

Social and Political Mobilization amid Extreme Violence and Disappearances

This book examines the collective action of the courageous family members of the disappeared amidst Mexico’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Victim Activists in Mexico: Social and Political Mobilization amid Extreme Violence and Disappearances examines the collective action of the courageous family members of the disappeared amidst Mexico’s ongoing humanitarian crisis over the last decade. Yael Siman and Matthew Hone analyze this grassroots mobilization and argue that these activists have created rutinary, contentious, and innovative types of resistance through building local and trans-local links of support and solidarity that reinforce their struggle. This mobilization from below has contributed to constructing transitional justice including laws, public apologies, and memorials. The combination of internal and external factors impacting the collectives and their environment has enabled significant changes in the institutions, state responses, and the victimhood narratives in the country. This book adds to the scholarship on the collective action of grieving families by focusing on both the social and political aspects of mobilization.