Most of what we know about organized criminal violence comes from research on illicit narcotics markets. Yet criminal groups also fight to capture markets for licit commodities, as evidenced by Sicilian lemons and Mexican avocados. When do organized criminal groups violently expand into markets for licit goods? We argue that rapid increases in the share of a good’s export value create opportunities for immediate profit and future market manipulation. These opportunities lead to violence as groups expand their territorial holdings and economic portfolio. We provide subnational evidence of our mechanism using data on avocado exports from Mexico, and address reverse causality with Google Trends data on the popularity of web searches for “avocado toast.” We also provide cross-national evidence by combining data from the Atlas of Economic Complexity, V-Dem, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). We find that increases in a country’s share of global export value for agricultural goods are associated with more homicides—but only where organized criminal groups are present.

A major challenge for contemporary legal constitutionalism is a crisis of public ethics that manifests in the lack of mutual toleration and institutional forbearance towards the judiciary. To showcase the importance of these norms in the relationship among co-equal branches of government, I focus on three cases, one where these norms have been present—South Africa—one where they have been absent—Mexico—and one case in between—United States. Until this crisis is addressed, the authority of apex courts will continue to be under threat. The Article suggests that a starting point to address the public ethics deficit may lie in shifting comparative constitutional law scholarly attention to the political sphere.

There has been limited research into the effectiveness of penetrating captive bolt (PCB) for stunning horses (Equus caballus) at slaughter. This study observed 100 horses at a commercial abattoir in Mexico, stunned using pneumatic PCB. Animals were assessed at the time of stunning and immediately after for signs of effective/ineffective stunning and shot positioning, with macroscopic gross brain pathology conducted to determine brain trauma. Twenty-five percent (25/100) received more than one shot and 28% (28/100) displayed behavioural signs of ineffective stunning. Of these 28 animals, all had deviations of more than 10 mm from the suggested shot position outlined by the Humane Slaughter Association with rostral-caudal deviation associated with an absence of damage to the thalamus, midbrain, and pons. Forty-four percent (44/100) of animals displayed no damage to critical brain structures (thalamus, midbrain, pons and medulla), with this associated with ineffective stunning. Overall, 16% of shots missed the brain (16/100), with a higher proportion of poll shots (30%) missing the brain compared to frontal shots (12%). There is the potential, when animals are shot into the poll, for paralysis from damage to the spinal cord and caudal brainstem structures. Appropriate position, angle and performance of PCB is therefore vital to achieving an effective stun, by targeting critical brain structures responsible for maintaining consciousness and ensuring proper PCB maintenance. Animals should be routinely checked between stunning and exsanguination, with minimal time between these stages, to minimise recovery of consciousness and alleviate suffering for horses at slaughter.

This study examines how racial identity affects legislative responsiveness in Mexico using an email-based audit experiment. Emails from simulated Indigenous, Mestiza, and European-White constituents were sent to all 626 federal legislators to test whether perceived identity shapes replies and their quality. Contrary to expectations, Indigenous-named constituents received significantly higher response rates that were more personalized and helpful than their European-White counterparts, while Mestiza-named constituents showed no significant differences in response rates. We found no coalition-based differences, though power was limited, and responsiveness declined in districts with larger Indigenous populations, revealing how national inclusion norms may be moderated by local demographic and political dynamics.

This study examines whether women politicians address violence against women (VAW) more effectively than their male counterparts at the local level in Mexico. Using a regression discontinuity design that leverages close mayoral elections, we find that women mayors reduce some of the most egregious violent crimes committed against women, with estimates suggesting a 64.7% reduction in homicides of women over their 3-year terms. As evidence of potential mechanisms, we find that women mayors actively work to combat VAW, appoint more women to leadership and support roles, and expand specialized services for crime victims. These findings suggest that women’s representation in local politics may be an important factor in advancing women’s safety.

Distinguishing between Stomylotrema bijugum and S. vicarium is challenging due to their phenotypic plasticity. In this study, adult specimens were recovered from 9 host species in the Mexican tropical lowlands. To explore the morphological differences, 32 morphological characteristics were evaluated in 54 specimens. Linear discriminant analysis provided enough evidence to differentiate the 2 species. Additionally, a principal component analysis (PCA) was performed for each species. The PCA of S. bijugum revealed 3 groups separately corresponding to specimens from the 3 hosts, suggesting host-induced phenotypic plasticity, whereas the PCA of S. vicarium revealed that the specimens from 3 host species were clustered together, indicating morphometric homogeneity. To confirm the morphological differences between the 2 species of Stomylotrema, we sequenced 2 molecular markers: the D1–D3 domains of the large subunit (LSU) from nuclear DNA and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit 1 (Nad1) from mitochondrial DNA. Sequences of the LSU were aligned and compared with the LSU sequences of other congeneric species available in GenBank. Phylogenetic analyses supported the monophyly of Stomylotrema, with 2 main subclades that corresponded to S. bijugum and S. vicarium. A haplotype network was predicted with 25 Nad1 sequences, revealing the presence of 2 clusters representing the 2 species separated from each other by 98 substitutions. The current studies on S. bijugum and S. vicarium revealed new hosts and geographical regions in the Americas, suggesting that both species addressed in the current study can complete their life cycle in the Neotropical region of Mexico.

In an era of fragmented global production and domestic decentralization, middle-income countries confront the complex challenge of industrial upgrading. While national governments remain central to industrial policy design and funding, upgrading unfolds through multi-level interactions between state and business actors across international, national, and subnational spheres. This raises a critical question: How do local political-economic coalitions between firms and governments shape the implementation of national industrial policies and leverage them for upgrading?

This paper moves beyond the predominantly national-level analysis of industrial policy, which often treats implementation as straightforward. Instead, it presents a novel theoretical framework that emphasizes how the interplay of executive leadership, business cohesion, and bureaucratic quality fundamentally shapes industrial upgrading outcomes in today’s globalized, decentralized economy. The framework is tested and refined through a longitudinal comparative study of a key technology sector industrial policy (Prosoft) in two Mexican states - Nuevo León and Puebla - from 2000 to 2015. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and secondary sources, the analysis demonstrates how distinct regional state-business configurations critically influence both policy implementation and upgrading trajectories.

In proposing industrial policies to promote development-enhancing upgrading, both the Middle-Income Trap (MIT) and Global Value Chain (GVC) literatures imply a “technocratic” approach that matches a given technical challenge to the right policy instrument. This paper suggests that, apart from the technical demands of the problem at-hand, it is also necessary to observe how governments at the subnational level practice path-dependent “sticky” styles of industrial policy that consistently favor some policy tools and approaches over others. Drawing upon four industry cases in the Mexican states of Jalisco (electronics, and information and communication technologies) and Querétaro (automotive and aerospace), we identify two distinct local industrial policy styles, as the former state deployed a Business-guided style while the latter relied upon a State-guided alternative. These styles, in turn, were each biased towards some forms of upgrading over others, leading to two main conclusions: first, that local policy styles must be taken into account to understand how deviations from technocratic policy selection appear. And second, that these styles can generate long-term impacts on the kinds of industrial upgrading observed.

The Tertiary Sierra La Vasca intrusive complex of the Mexican Eastern Alkaline Province consists of diverse alkaline-to-peralkaline granitoids and syenites and is a rare example of silica oversaturated peralkaline magmatism characterized by eudialyte. The intrusion of these peralkaline rocks into Cretaceous carbonate country rocks resulted in the development of a unique cuspidine, Zr-bearing cuspidine, hiortdahlite and wollastonite exoskarn. This study is focussed on a eudialyte-bearing vein and accompanying banded exoskarn which illustrates the unusual skarn-forming metasomatic effects of Zr mobilization. The skarn consists of six mineralogically distinct zones: (1) a parental Nb-poor eudialyte-bearing quartz granitoid vein; (2) a region of eudialyte pseudomorphed by intergrown Zr-sorosilicates; (3) an andradite–cuspidine–hiortdahlite–wöhlerite zone; (4) a zone of skeletal-to-prismatic cuspidine plus wollastonite which is transitional to zone (5); a coarser grained and heterogeneous zone consisting of complex intergrowths of tabular and prismatic cuspidine–hiortdahlite solid solutions, wollastonite, fluorite, apatite and rare calcite; (6) a contact calcite marble lacking any metasomatic silicates, phosphates or fluorite. Skarn formation was the result of alteration of eudialyte and separation of Si-rich hydrothermal fluids with high F/H2O ratios from the parental Si-oversaturated peralkaline magma and subsequent infiltration of Si–Zr–REE–P-bearing fluids into the country rock carbonates. Zircon was probably transported as Zr-fluoride and chloride complexes and the acidic fluids reacted with calcite to form cuspidine–hiortdahlite solid solutions and wollastonite as the principal skarn minerals. All of the Si required to form this unique skarn assemblage was derived from the hydrothermal fluids as the country rocks do not contain Si-bearing minerals. Skarn formation is considered to have occurred at temperatures below 500°C.