Forced Recruitment in Mexico: Coordinates for the Construction of an Object of Study

Abstract

This article aims to advance the construction of forced recruitment as an emerging object of study within the Social Sciences, through a structural, social, and legal analysis of this phenomenon in Mexico. Using a documentary and situational analysis methodology, it examines the contemporary dynamics of forced recruitment as an extreme form of structural violence that combines mechanisms of capture, retention, training, and exploitation of individuals, mainly young people living in conditions of social vulnerability. The study takes as a reference the case of Teuchitlán, Jalisco, along with various journalistic and institutional sources, to reveal both the absence of a specific criminal framework and the inadequacy of public policies addressing the structural causes of this phenomenon. An analytical typology is proposed that distinguishes between forced, voluntary, and contextualized recruitment, emphasizing the need to understand recruitment as a complex social process rather than as an isolated act of coercion. The results suggest that forced recruitment functions both as a mechanism for replenishing criminal ranks in contexts of organizational weakening and as a direct consequence of social exclusion and the State’s failure to guarantee dignified living conditions. In sum, the article seeks to establish the conceptual and methodological foundations for the systematic study of forced recruitment, encouraging its incorporation into the social research agenda and the design of public policies aimed at prevention and reintegration.