Surveillance, discipline, punishment. An ethnography of the security subsystem of self-defense groups

The aim of this paper is to describe the operational mode in terms of security, justice and discipline subsystem of self-defense groups in Tierra Caliente, Michoacan. The study is based on a qualitative approach, using ethnographic methodology and a social systems theoretical approach. The social systems perspective allowed to identify the communicative structures of the subsystem within a wider communication network of the armed group. The main finding is that self-defense groups in Tierra Caliente were formed in response to the absence of state institutions to address organized crime. The members of self-defense groups defended the territory and the lives of their communities. However, the same security system that was created to protect the community also took charge of surveillance, punishment, and disciplining of the community members.