Abstract

REYES-SOSA, Hiram; LARRANAGA-EGILEGOR, Maider  and  VALENCIA-GARATE, José Francisco. The social representation of drug traffickers among Sinaloense youths. Región y sociedad [online]. 2017, vol.29, n.69, pp.69-88. ISSN 2448-4849.  https://doi.org/10.22198/rys.2017.69.a269.

The problem of drug trafficking is present in México, and thanks to the drug trafficker’s figure, this phenomenon has become very socially relevant. This study’s objectives were to present a historical outline of drug traffickers at different times, and to know their social representation and assessment among Sinaloense youths. In Culiacan, Sinaloa, men and women participated equally in the study. A free evocation of words questionnaire, with an inducing question, was applied, and the EVOC software was used to process the data based on frequency hierarchies and evocation order. Results showed a divergent assessment of drug traffickers, which fluctuates between positive and negative and diverges from the negative images and assessments disseminated by politicians and the media.

Keywords : social perception; social imaginaries; drug-trafficking culture; drug trafficker; drug trafficking; Sinaloa; youths; social impact; ideology.