Juventudes escolarizadas en contextos de violencia criminal: estudio sobre la construcción de proyectos de vida

In environments marked by drug trafficking, insecurity and criminal violence, the school is in conflict between its social function of forming useful subjects for the social structure and the reality marked by inequality that forces youth to define their life projects from illegality. In Mexico, drug trafficking has been characterized by high-impact processes of violence and a culture of transgression that is internalized by youth. Using a biographical approach, 12 in-depth interviews were analyzed with students, teachers, prefects and security guards, with the aim of understanding how contexts of criminal violence affected the expectations, life projects, experiences and meanings that youth construct. Fieldwork was carried out at the Preparatory School 2 de Octubre in Culiacancito, Sinaloa. The results are presented based on the following categories: drug trafficking as a life project; hegemonic and alternative life project; social, family and institutional-educational conditions that enable the definition of life projects. We conclude that a broken family nucleus, the presence of drug trafficking, economic and emotional deficiencies and a lack of educational interest are conditions that make it possible to define life projects based on drug trafficking.