The Necropolitical Penal Rationale behind Hardline and Zero Tolerance Policies and Their Differentiated Impact on Young Mexican Men: A Case Study in Guanajuato.

The present research aims to explain how some of the homicides, disappearances, and deaths of young men in Mexico result from a necropolitical penal rationale derived from the deployment of "hardline" and "zero tolerance" policies, under which complex structures of criminalization and stigma toward marginalized youth have been generated. These structures are supported by the criminal justice system, the militarization of security institutions, and a punitive populism that validates punishment as a model of social regulation.
The analysis will focus on the case of Mexico, specifically on Guanajuato starting in 2018, when there was a surge in the number of homicides. The aim is to assess ruptures and continuities based on five indicators: a) the nature of penal legislation, b) the official discourse on the nature of deaths, c) the georeferencing of murders, deaths, and disappearances, d) the deployment of armed forces, and e) the actors involved, and the mechanisms used in the deaths of youths.

In addition to the focus on Mexico, this research will include a comparative analysis with the city of Edmonton, Canada, to establish both similarities and differences in state and societal responses to youth violence. This comparative approach will allow for an examination of how, in two distinct sociopolitical contexts, security and criminal justice policies are implemented in response to issues of youth criminalization. Through this analysis, the research will identify commonalities in the marginalization and stigmatization of young people, as well as differences in public security policies, the use of armed forces, and the preventive or punitive approaches in each context.