Abstract

CARRILLO HERNANDEZ, Edith. Linked to the Drug?: Women Imprisoned for Drug Crimes. Desacatos [online]. 2012, n.38, pp.61-72. ISSN 2448-5144.

This article analyzes how the Mexican government's offensive against the drugs affected the gender order of enforcement.This fact was observed in the increase of incarceration of women for drug crimes considered significant actors in the criminal chain of drug trafficking.The results were harsher sentences and the denial of pre-release benefits provided by law.These women have been tried under the imagery of male drug dealer,an enemy of society, yet they are victims of violence and poverty, and the last link between organized crime.The State has undertaken to criminalize and deny the full exercise of their rights. In this article their stories are rescued, and we try to reflect on the risks and difficulties of conducting anthropological research in prison conditions.

Keywords : women in prison; drug trafficking; violence; gender; anthropology; poverty.