Violence, addiction, recovery: An anthropological study of Mexico’sanexos

Abstract

Informal, coercive residential centers for the treatment of addiction are widespread and growing throughout Latin America. In Mexico these centers are called “anexos” and they are run and utilized by low-income individuals and families with problems related to drugs and alcohol. This article draws on findings from a 3-year anthropological study of anexos in Mexico City. Participant observation and in-depth interviews were used to describe and analyze anexos, their therapeutic practices, and residents’ own accounts of addiction and recovery. Our findings indicate that poverty, addiction, and drug-related violence have fueled the proliferation of anexos. They also suggest that anexos offer valuable health, social, and practical support, but risk exacerbating the suffering of residents through coercive rehabilitation techniques. Emphasizing this tension, this article considers the complex relationship between coercion and care, and poses fundamental questions about what drug recovery consists of in settings of poverty and violence.

Global Side Effects: Counter-Clinics in Mental Health Care

“…On the other hand, due to growing political, ethical, and bodily resistances to psychoactive medications, non-pharmaceutical modes of treatment are also on the rise-among groups aligned in the "service user" and "survivor" movements such as the Hearing Voices Network, the Icarus Project, and Mind Freedom International (Bracken et al 2012:432;Swerdfager 2016;Jain 2016), as well as therapists working in politicized and otherwise "alternative" clinics (Hyde 2017;Giordano 2014; Matza forthcoming; Pandolfo forthcoming), and lay people developing new therapeutic expertise and settings (Garcia 2015;Garcia and Anderson 2016;Nakamura 2013;Raikhel 2016;Zhang 2014). Among these experiments in care, psychodynamic theories of mental life and novel psychotherapeutic techniques have come to play key roles, in some cases looping back into formal healthcare settings, as with certain forms of mindfulness practice (Kirmayer 2015; Lewis 2013Lewis , 2016.…”

The role of drug treatment and recovery services: an opportunity to address injection initiation assistance in Tijuana, Mexico

“…Furthermore, the majority of people who use drugs (PWUD; including PWID) that receive drug treatment and recovery services in Tijuana, do so at centers, referred to as anexos , that are privately owned and operate outside of government oversight [ 26 , 31 ]. Less than half of drug treatment centers in Mexico are certified by the Comisión Nacional contra las Adicciones (CONADIC; Mexican National Commission against Addiction), and therefore may be offering services lacking the minimal criteria for quality care [ 23 ].…”

“…Less than half of drug treatment centers in Mexico are certified by the Comisión Nacional contra las Adicciones (CONADIC; Mexican National Commission against Addiction), and therefore may be offering services lacking the minimal criteria for quality care [ 23 ]. The lack of governmental oversight for drug treatment and recovery service centers in this region has been associated with overcrowded conditions, the absence of medical services, abstinence-based withdrawal practices, and fear of violence among clients [ 26 , 31 , 32 ]. Most of these centers employ a “mutual aid” approach, are faith-based, and are based in the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) 12-step model of drug treatment [ 26 , 33 ].…”

The Anexo in Northern California: An Alcoholics Anonymous-Based Recovery Residence in Latino Communities

“…The extant literature also identifies significant variation among anexos in Mexico according to whether or not they are registered with the Movimiento Internacional 24 Horas Alcohólicos Anónimos or the government, the organization of each anexo, and their policies in regard to being “open” or “closed” to the public (Lozano-Verduzco, Marín-Navarrete, Romero-Mendoza, & Tena-Suck, 2016; Marín-Navarrete et al, 2013; Pulido, Meyers, & Martínez, 2009). More recently, research in Mexico City has examined the unorthodox practices of some anexos that have cast a dark shadow over these recovery centers (García & Anderson, 2016). Some of the reported practices include physical restraint, verbal abuse, prolonged kneeling, and hitting and kicking (García & Anderson, 2016).…”

“…More recently, research in Mexico City has examined the unorthodox practices of some anexos that have cast a dark shadow over these recovery centers (García & Anderson, 2016). Some of the reported practices include physical restraint, verbal abuse, prolonged kneeling, and hitting and kicking (García & Anderson, 2016). It is important to note that the anexos in our research site abhor such punitive practices.…”