Abstract

WINTON, Ailsa. Analysing the geographies of the 'transnational' gangs of Central America: the changing spaces of violence. Invest. Geog [online]. 2012, n.79, pp.136-149. ISSN 2448-7279.

The aim of this paper is to contribute to knowledge of 'transnational' youth gangs in the Central American region, through an analysis of the mutually constitutive processes of identity, space and place production. It is argued that insights into gangs gained through analyzing their spatial dynamics and practices, and discussing ways in which these dynamics and processes connect the local and global scales, offer useful knowledge concerning the functioning of these gangs in a field still lacking in-depth academic research. Drawing on over a decade of direct research with young people in the region, the paper finds that poor understanding of gangs inevitably leads to ineffective, counterproductive interventions, and demonstrates that the geographies of maras are a fundamental -and still neglected- aspect of their development and transformation.

Keywords : Youth gangs; transnational; Central America; violence; space.