INTRODUCTION

Drug trafficking activities have experienced significant growth, affecting the rule of law in Latin America as a result of their profound impact on society ( ^{Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo A. C., 2009, p. 6} ; ^{Latin American School of Social Sciences [FLACSO], 2007, p. 11} ; ^{Organization of American States, 2008, p. 12} ). In Mexico, drug trafficking is understood to mean “any activity aimed at commercializing drugs considered illegal by the General Health Law in Mexico” ( ^{Pérez, 2012, p. 3} )³ . This definition also considers drug trafficking to be a process that begins with the growing or procurement of precursors, continues with the processing and manufacturing of the final product, and concludes with its sale and distribution. The concept also acknowledges that trafficking is usually performed by various groups that specialize in certain stages of the sales chain ( ^{Pérez, 2012} ).

Figures provided by Ríos and Sabet show that, by 2008, drug trafficking had become the fifth largest source of employment in the industrial sector in Mexico, with around 468,000 people engaged in drug trafficking in some way – most in planting, cultivation, production, and protection ( ^{Ríos & Sabet, 2008, p. 10, 17} ).

On the other hand, statistics from the National Public Security System also show a systematic increase in drug trafficking-related crime in Mexico; there were between 20,000 and 30,000 crimes recorded from 2000 to 2006, but in 2007 this figure shot up to over 80,000 ( ^{Federal Government, 2011} ). A study by ^{Resa (2014)} based on criminal justice data in Mexico reported that the number of people convicted for drug trafficking-related crimes doubled in ten years, as there were 10,000 convicts in 2003, and by 2012 they numbered over 20,000.

Sonora⁴  is a case in point within this context of escalating drug trafficking activity, as in the space of ten years it has come to rank third in drug trafficking-related crimes, with the second highest rate of convicts ( ^{Resa, 2014, p. 37} ). For example, the municipality of Benjamín Hill in Sonora, located 162 kilometers south of the U.S. border, exhibits the highest proportion of residents convicted for drug trafficking-related crimes (12.34 per 1,000 citizens). In addition, a further six of the ten municipalities with the highest rate of convicts in Mexico for such crimes are in Sonora⁵ ( ^{National Institute of Statistics and Geography [INEGI], 2014} ). This worsened in 2013 and 2014, when Sonora had the second highest level of drug trafficking-related crime of all states in the country ( ^{Office of the Attorney General of the Republic [PGR], 2015} ).

In light of the above, this study draws from an argument from social theory that suggests there are various factors from one’s social context that influence the decision to break the law ( ^{Durkheim, 1982} ; ^{Merton, 1938} ). The key objective is to test some of those contextual factors associated, in theory, with law-breaking through participation in drug trafficking activities in Sonora.

It is acknowledged that engaging in unlawful activity is multifactorial and cannot be explained solely by contextual factors. However, this theoretical perspective – which analyzes the effect of context on human actions – was chosen as a first step in contributing to the study of the drug trafficking phenomenon. Evidence on the kind of contextual factors that influence the decision to engage in drug trafficking is presented to support this argument, based on a new database constructed by reviewing and analyzing the prison records of 371 inmates serving sentences at the Social Reinsertion Center 1 (Cereso 1) in the city of Hermosillo, in Sonora.

This study is divided into six parts: the first presents theoretical approaches regarding the impact of social conditions on law-breaking behavior; the second reviews previous literature on the topic; the third develops the hypotheses that draw on these theoretical arguments; the fourth describes the sample, variables, and data; the fifth presents and discusses the findings; and the sixth presents the main conclusions.

THE INFLUENCE OF CONTEXT ON LAW-BREAKING BEHAVIOR

Rule-breaking behavior influenced by social structure is associated with the drug trafficking phenomenon. ^{Angenent and De Man (1996, p. 2)} report that law-breaking is seen, first and foremost, as an expression of deviant behavior, understood as any action performed by an individual that departs from conventional norms or standards and is considered undesirable and unacceptable by the society in which the individual acts. ^{Vasallo Barrueta (2001, p. 3)} stresses that the spectrum of deviant behavior is broad and includes criminal behavior, in which individuals display an attitude that violates the legal limits dictated by society. The author notes that the scope of deviant behavior encompasses all socially-dictated norms, whereas criminal behavior – like drug trafficking – is an act specifically characterized by the fact that it violates legislation. Social theory has put forward proposals explaining transgressive behavior, particularly violations of law. These theoretical approaches are developed below.

PREVIOUS STUDIES ON PARTICIPATION IN DRUG TRAFFICKING 

Work on transgressive behavior reveals a significant relationship between contextual aspects and criminal behavior, which includes drug-related crimes. ^{Valenzuela and Larroulet (2010)} address the phenomenon from a psychological perspective and highlight the strong association between using drugs and committing crime. ^{Salazar, Torres, Reynaldos, Figueroa, and Valencia (2009)} explore the subject’s family and economic conditions and identify certain living conditions in adolescents charged with committing drug-related crime and theft. Their work found that most subjects in their study sample lived with both parents and one in three young people had work experience, leading the authors to discuss the hypothesis of family and economic deterioration as a precursor to crime. ^{Reyes Santos (2012)} , on the other hand, concludes that a lack of interest in education results in young people distancing themselves from the classroom at an ever earlier age, increasing the likelihood of trading education for criminal activity.

The socioeconomic context has been deemed a crucial factor in young people’s entry into crime. In this sense, ^{Coubès and Silva (2012)} highlight a deterioration in working conditions, and ^{Boville Luca de Tena (2000)} develops the idea that drug trafficking is linked to conditions of extreme poverty; as a result, such activities become a worthwhile option to meet communities’ economic needs.

In addition, the family nucleus is another key factor in an individual’s decision to choose crime as a course of action. In this respect, ^{López Estrada (2012)} confirms the hypothesis that abnormal relationships, involving estrangement or abandonment between parents and children, increase exposure to violent behavior and play a part in young people’s decision to respond with criminal acts. Regarding the conjectures on the effect of the residential environment on these actions, studies such as ^{López Estrada (2012)} and ^{González Ramírez (2012)} suggest that the high demand for space and public services sets the stage for social discontent, which is expressed through conflict and violence between inhabitants. Furthermore, there are spaces where legal activities are precursors to illegal ones (casinos, bars, dance halls, prostitution, etc.) – in other words, there are residential areas that encourage activities associated with crime.

Previous research has also made efforts to isolate and study the effect of various mediarelated elements on the likelihood of considering drug trafficking as a lifestyle choice. On the one hand, the evolution of drug trafficking is studied as a sociocultural phenomenon, in which traffickers are acknowledged and accepted as an objective entity, well disseminated in society and considered a formal occupation in some sectors ( ^{Ovalle, 2010, p. 93} ). Similarly, ^{Campbell (2007, p. 51)} explains that the spread of the drug economy, the cultural exchange on the U.S.- Mexico border, and the stigma attached to traffickers of illegal substances, this figure has gradually become part of everyday life. The presence of drug trafficking has reflected itself in people’s lifestyles, clothes, jewelry, luxury cars, and even home design. The author notes that this phenomenon is linked to the perceptions of those who live in poverty, for whom drug trafficking is a way to overcome deficiencies.

^{Arredondo (2012)} studies the background of people involved in these activities and stresses that context limitations may influence individuals’ aspirations. ^{Santamaría (2012, p.7)} , on the other hand, considers gender differences and reports that women are motivated to engage in drug trafficking not just out of a longing for power, but as a result of their critical social condition as single mothers working in the service sector. The author adds that these women were born within a network of family members or friends involved in drug trafficking and see in it an escape route from their diminished social condition.

METHODOLOGY, SAMPLE, AND VARIABLES

The information is taken from 371 inmate records from Cereso 1 in Hermosillo, Sonora, with which a new database was constructed. The dependent variable for all models was participation in drug trafficking. However, subsamples were used in the models, which test the first hypothesis based on four selection variables that contextualize worsening social situations: state of poverty, educational lag, living in an urban area, and criminality in the place of residence. Sample sizes are included in each model.

Backward logistic models were used in the SPSS 18 statistical package to test the relationship between the independent variables and participation in drug trafficking. This method uses progressive elimination; variables are excluded sequentially and the starting point is a saturated model with all variables believed to contribute to explaining the dependent variable, with the least significant predictor variables progressively eliminated to seek a better fit ( ^{Jovell, 1995, p. 65} ). Table 1 summarizes the characteristics of the total sample.

Tables 2 and 3 show the set of variables used in the study. A definition is provided for each variable based on specific sources, including the Federal Criminal Code, government offices associated with the prison system and various academic studies. 

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICIPATING IN DRUG-TRAFFICKING ACTIVITIES

This results section presents the multivariate analysis for each hypothesis. Table 4 shows the models and variables for the first hypothesis, which addresses the relationship between social deterioration and participation in drug-trafficking activities. All independent variables proposed in the study were noted in each model, but only those associated with drug trafficking, using the backward method, are given

Model 1 illustrates the effect of the dependent variables on participation in drug trafficking activities, with living in a state of poverty used as a selection variable on the basis that it is considered an aspect of social deterioration. The findings show a close relationship in three of the independent variables tested. The first indicates that family disintegration is associated with participating in drug-trafficking activities in conditions of poverty. The elucidation of this relationship suggests that the numerous transformations and conflicts within the family structure have a significant effect on law-breaking activity; family disintegration brings about reshuffles within the nucleus that often entail conditions that play a part in opting for a lifestyle of crime ( ^{López Estrada, 2012} ). 

The second variable that exhibits a strong association with drug trafficking activities in a context of poverty is intrafamily violence. This association can be discussed intensively as the mechanism explaining this relationship is unclear, but literature has found that intrafamily violence damages personality in a range of different ways, particularly in the case of “child abuse”, as reported by ^{Gidden and Sutton (2013)} : “studies on prostitutes, young offenders, runaway adolescents, and drug addicts show that a high percentage have a history of childhood abuse” (p. 217). ^{López Estrada (2012)} suggests that family nuclei composed of non-family members increase the likelihood of friction in relationships between members. In conditions of economic pressure caused by the poverty experienced by this segment of the sample, this situation escalates interpersonal tensions, which give rise to episodes of intrafamily violence.

A close relationship was also discovered between drug use and participation in drug trafficking-related activities in conditions of poverty. Indeed, this variable is positive and significant in each of the four models used to test the hypothesis in question. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse ( ^{NIDA; 2008, p.1} ), frequent drug use or addiction directly affects the brain and behavior. ^{Grossman and Murphy (1991)} suggest that drug use creates a need in an individual for the substance, and financial pressure to obtain it. This drives users to engage in drug trafficking-related activity, viewing it as a means to continue supplying themselves with and using drugs.

In model 2, the selection variable used is educational lag as a state of social deterioration. In these conditions, there were three independent variables strongly associated with participation in drug trafficking activities. The first is residence in Sonora, which becomes a key factor in our study as living in the state and poor academic performance are closely tied to engaging in drug trafficking activities. This finding runs counter to certain pronouncements by the government of Sonora, particularly during the 2009-2015 term, when it labeled Sonora “the safest border state in Mexico” ( ^{SDP noticias, 2013} ; ^{Uniradio informa, 2011} ; ^{Uno TV, 2014} ). Furthermore, educational lag is a public issue that is rarely discussed in the state.

The result of this model is consistent with findings by ^{Resa (2014)} , which show that the state is one of the fastest growing settings for drug trafficking activity in the country, as one of the top three states with the most crimes in the last 15 years. Furthermore, six of the state’s municipalities are among the top ten nationally in terms of density of convicts of drug trafficking-related crime. The association between the residence in Sonora variable and participation in drug trafficking activities is also explained by its enabling context as part of Mexico’s northern border area, which entails complex migration flows ( ^{González, 2012, p. 112} ), a struggle for employment opportunities ( ^{Coubès & Silva, 2012, p. 294} ), a demand for housing, clashing urban designs ( ^{Zavala Mora, 2012, p. 81} ), and a wider dissemination of cultural components associated with drug trafficking ( ^{Astorga, 1995, p. 37} ; ^{Campbell, 2007, p. 48} ; ^{Sánchez, 2009, p. 79} ). 

On the other hand, model 2 also shows the relationship between the secondary family variable and participation in drug trafficking activities in a context of educational lag. Although there is controversy surrounding the mechanism explaining this relationship, ^{González (2012)} notes that a role as a provider increases an individual’s vulnerability, leading to a rush to secure resources. These circumstances, combined with a lack of the education required to find a better paid job, come together in a setting where it is ever harder to obtain basic resources, and illegal activity presents itself as a way to provide for a family.

Model 3, which takes living in an urban area as a selection variable, shows a significant positive relationship in four independent variables. Residence in Sonora and drug use have been discussed in the previous models and, yet again, an association was found between them in this model. The other two independent variables that exhibit a significant positive relationship with participation in drug trafficking activities, when subjects live in a rural area, are having a criminal record and living in a state of poverty. In this sense, this finding shows that there is a segment of individuals engaged in drug trafficking activities who live in urban areas, but in dire circumstances with life trajectories marked by admission to a correctional center.

In this case, the explanation of an association between participation in drug trafficking activities and having a criminal record when subjects live in an urban area is supported by ^{Foucault (1992)} , who refutes the hypothesis that prison has been linked to a project to transform individuals: “It is customary to believe that prison was a kind of warehouse for criminals, the disadvantages of which would have manifested themselves, with its use, in such a way that one would say it was necessary to reform prisons and turn them into a tool to transform individuals. This is untrue […] failure has been immediate” ( ^{Foucault, 1992, pp. 97-98} ). 

Other studies that address the Mexican prison system ( ^{Azaola & Bergman, 2003, p. 20} ; ^{Bringas & Roldán, 1998, p. 17} ; ^{México Evalúa, 2013, p. 49} ) highlight the social deterioration to which ex-convicts are exposed upon release and which jeopardizes their life trajectory. The first challenge for people reintegrating into society is to reestablish the meaningful social relationships they had before prison, in which they must overcome the economic detriment incurred by their incarceration. It is also acknowledged that the moral stigma associated with a criminal record makes employment reintegration difficult, worsening the subject’s social deterioration. These conditions influence the search for emergency measures to obtain resources, and drug trafficking emerges as a way forward in most cases.

On the other hand, far from enabling access to better living conditions – as occurs in rural communities – living in an urban area may actually be an incentive for crime. An urban context entails a deterioration that increases the likelihood of engaging in drug trafficking activities. ^{Zavala Mora (2012)} and ^{Moreno (2017)} report a high prevalence of crime-inducing social conflicts in urban communities due to a high demand for resources and services and contrasts in urban design, fostering marginalization and scant monitoring by authorities.

The relationship between the variable state of poverty and participation in drug trafficking activities occurs when there is a deterioration in economic conditions and little ability to meet basic needs. In these circumstances, drug trafficking activities represent a way to address individuals’ economic deprivation ( ^{Boville Luca de Tena, 2000, p. 110} ; ^{Campbell, 2007, p. 51} ). ^{Boville Luca de Tena (2000, p. 133)} reports that drug trafficking becomes a viable option because it is steeped in an economic system in which legal resources circulate alongside illegal ones, which can be used to perform legal activities that will later prove to be cases of moneylaundering.

Lastly, model 4 takes living in a high-crime area as a selection variable, and also draws on a context of social deterioration. A significant positive relationship was found between participation in drug trafficking activities and the variables residence in Sonora, living in a state of poverty, and drug use; these are the same variables that exhibited strong and significant associations in the previous models. Although the mechanism that shapes this relationship is complex, ^{Arteaga and Fuentes (2009, p. 175)} explain that the creation of enclaves that make crime more likely is the result of a series of actions taken by the Mexican state to protect the population. According to the authors, these actions have more to do with a crisis in law enforcement as a social right and a breakdown in the ability to provide certainty in controlling crime. As part of this process, in significant portions of urban areas the state has surrendered its monitoring duties to the private security industry, and at the same time has become less able to access more maginalized areas, worsening the conflict and giving rise to differing levels of criminal behavior in different parts of cities. 

Table 5 shows the results of the model estimated to verify the second hypothesis in this study, which suggests that poor social control of crime is reflected in individual life trajectories and this influences participation in drug trafficking activities.

The same logistic model was used and the independent variables were tested with the backward method. As no selection variable is considered, the association between dependent variables and participation in drug trafficking activities is estimated.

The first result indicates, yet again, that living in Sonora is part of a context that provides opportunities to engage in drug trafficking. Taking into account the arguments noted in the analysis of the previous model with respect to the residence in Sonora variable, there are other kinds of problems and challenges that become risk factors and which have even been observed by authorities through public policies implemented such as Cruzada por la Seguridad (2009-2015) and the current program Escudo Ciudadano (2015-2021). These policies warn of individuals’ estrangement from social norms, leading to poor social control of crime. 

This ties in with the following two variables, which also exhibit a close association with participation in drug trafficking activities: having a criminal record and drug use. As has been shown, poor social control of crime is associated with individual life trajectories, resulting in poor precedents. In the wake of this association, the involvement dimension proposed by Hirschi makes sense, as having a criminal record and drug use portray an absence of lawful activity such as sport, study or work, and therefore individual actions culminate in unlawful activities that remain on the record of an individual’s life trajectory.

There is literature ( ^{Becker, 1968} ; ^{Cardona, 2004} ) pointing to a strategic process prior to entry into illegal activity, in which the individual weighs up the feasibility of this kind of lifestyle compared to lawful ones; there is also a range of views that consider drug trafficking more profitable than other lawful options ( ^{Ovalle, 2010} ). This ties in with the idea that knowledge of negligence in the administration of justice has been observed in subjects’ life trajectories, which in most cases downplays the consequences of engaging in unlawful activity such as drug trafficking ( ^{Astorga, 2015} ; ^{Barrón Cruz, 2015} ; ^{Valdés, 2013} ).

Lastly, a new variable associated with participation in drug trafficking activities is the risk age. The study proposed an age range of 21 to 30 years, based on the analysis of inmates’ records. This finding is consistent with data provided by Resa (2014, p. 4), who found that 45% (n = 65,007) of all convicts for drug crimes in Mexico between 2003 and 2012 (n = 144,787) were between 18 and 30 years old, so this age range is at risk. Giddens and Sutton (2013), on the other hand, assert that “youth” is made up of people aged between 18 and 30 with fairly independent lives. In that sense, one of the arguments supporting the relationship between a young age and participation in drug trafficking comes from “the commonly-held idea that most juvenile crime is drug-related” ( ^{Gómez Rodríguez, 2013, p. 43} ).

Studies on juvenile delinquency are not simple, and it is necessary to expand on those conducted and contrast their results. In Mexico, the topic is a research agenda in need of new findings, and in this vein, this study shows that there is indeed an increased likelihood of engaging in drug trafficking activities in individuals in this age range.

In sum, the evidence shown in this model also falls in line with hypothesis 2, which suggests that with poor social control of crime, which is reflected in individual life trajectories, the likelihood of engaging in drug trafficking is increased, as indicated by the associations presented in this study.

CONCLUSIONS

Participation in drug trafficking activities is part of social life in Mexico and has ever greater repercussions on individual lives. This phenomenon is one of many problems endured by Sonora by virtue of its status as a border state, and over decades has become an ongoing issue that continues to add to the challenges that beset states in northwestern Mexico and spread nationwide.

The scourge of drug trafficking weakens the rule of law, and its growth puts the state’s capacities to test. In this context, and considering that much remains to be analyzed and explored with respect to individuals’ motives in engaging in drug trafficking in spite of the penalties provided by the criminal codes, this study offers evidence on some of the variables that influence these motives.

Two working hypotheses were constructed on the basis of two types of theoretical arguments in social theory. The first presents the relationship between social deterioration and participation in drug trafficking activities, and the second relates to the association between poor social control of crime and its reflection in individual life trajectories through participation in drug trafficking activities.

The findings came from a new database constructed from the analysis of 371 inmate records from the Social Reinsertion Center 1 in Hermosillo, Sonora. Although it only relates to contextual factors, the evidence shown in the statistical analysis indicates that living in Sonora increases the likelihood of engaging in drug trafficking; similarly, individuals aged between 20 and 30 years make up a high-risk age group.

By the same token, having a criminal record is another factor closely associated with participation in drug trafficking-related activities. Furthermore, the data presented in this analysis leads to the conclusion that individuals are more likely to engage in such activities when they come from a broken family nucleus that exhibits elements of intrafamily violence.

Lastly, this study offered evidence that the idea of social control of crime is tempered when individuals have a life trajectory with a criminal record and a history of drug use (in other words, when they are removed from conventional social norms), facilitating the transgression of these norms through participation in drug trafficking activities. As noted at the beginning of this section, the findings show that living in Sonora is part of a context that facilitates engagement in these activities, paving the way for a discussion of the positions found in the discourse of the Mexican government, which in recent years has identified Sonora as a safe state offering legal opportunities to get ahead.