“We never thought we would find this in primary schools,” Prieto Quezada told Al Jazeera. The investigation revealed the profound impact of narco-culture – a phenomenon that has impacted Mexican music, fashion, and language – on local children. READ MORE: Meet the man cleaning up after Mexico’s murders On the other hand, you don’t live as long… People want to come to your house and kill you.”
“I would like the power, the money, the luxury cars and all the rest. “Sometimes I think I would like to be like them,” David, 11, told researchers. Prieto Quezada’s most disturbing find was that many of the children respected drug traffickers. Most subjects portrayed themselves as victims or traumatised spectators of the drug war, a conflict that has claimed more than 170,000 lives since Decem, when then-President Felipe Calderon deployed troops in an ill-fated attempt to stamp out organised crime.Ī collection of Kalashnikov and Armalite assault rifles Admiration for outlaws The investigation involved surveys and interviews, as well as drawing. More than 500 children between the ages of eight and 13 participated in the study, which was led by Maria Teresa Prieto Quezada, an educational psychologist at the University of Guadalajara. They uncover the mental scars borne by a generation exposed to extreme violence, many of whom distrust government forces and admire narco-culture.Įlementary school students produced the drawings as part of an investigation into the effects of the conflict on children in northern Jalisco, an impoverished area plagued by violent crime. These are not photographs, but children’s drawings depicting the harsh realities of Mexico’s decade-long drug war. A third features a collection of Kalashnikov and Armalite assault rifles, the weapons of choice for Mexico’s cartel hitmen. Another shows a gang member hurling a grenade at a police officer. Guadalajara, Mexico – One image captures a fierce shoot-out between rival drug cartels, with several lifeless bodies slumped on the street in pools of their own blood.
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