Work

Citizen mapping and recording of clandestine graves as ‘forensic practices from below’ to combat institutional indifference in Mexico and Guanajuato

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This article provides historical context, with an emphasis on the last two decades of the so-called ‘war on drugs’, for the practices of disappearance and concealment of persons in clandestine graves in Mexico and the state of Guanajuato. It also reconstructs the most relevant trajectories of collective action, citizen forensics and investigative journalism in mapping and recording clandestine graves. The context of a profound forensic crisis and institutional neglect regarding the recovery and identification of bodies pushed individuals and collectives to confront the state’s forensic monopoly by building ‘forensic practices from below’ and communitarian knowledge against extreme forms of violence such as necrocide and ‘bureaucratic’ or ‘double disappearances’. Finally, the sources, methods and scope of the main mapping and data analysis on clandestine graves in Mexico are described, and the case of Guanajuato, the most violent state in the last decade, is analysed. The conclusion offers an evaluation and interpretation of the evidence reviewed.

Source: Human Remains and Violence An Interdisciplinary Journal

DOI: 10.7227/hrv.12.2.3

Author: Fabrizio Lorusso

Institution: Universidad Iberoamericana León

Language: English

Topic: Memory, violence, and history

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $613