Biological and political identity: The identification system in Mexico

Abstract

In 2008, following the assassination of the son of a renowned Mexican businessman, the Mexican government, social organizations, businesses and the media signed the National Agreement for Security, Justice and Legality. This body proposed the creation of a Citizen Identification Card (CIC). Converting the assassination into a ‘big event’, it has generated a ‘moral panic’ in the country, which allowed the justification to put in place mechanisms of control and population surveillance – such as the CIC. In 2009, the federal government announced the creation of an identity card with biometric elements. However, this project had an obstacle: the struggle for databases and collection of data from the Mexican population. This article analyses how the CIC project, in Mexico, has generated a debate on the implications of concentrating on an identification card, using two forms of citizen identification: biometric and territorial reference identity.

Surveillance footage and space segregation in Mexico City

“…To have a comparative perspective, the surveillance footage of the kidnapping was contrasted with other footage in different contexts, particularly in financial, commercial or residential districts and other video surveillance by public entities (Arteaga, 2011). This comparison allowed us to observe how the cameras in other urban environments have other performance features, such as their ability to change angle and the focus of shots, all with the objective of obtaining sharper and clearer images.…”