Abstract
This chapter analyzes the links between labor exclusion, social violence, and youth living in Central America’s urban slums. In particular, we discuss how the social violence that takes place in these areas helps diminish the labor opportunities available to marginalized, working-class youth. The violence that street gangs and organized crime groups perpetuate in these territories fuels processes that socially stigmatize all inhabitants, but especially young people. Employers respond to this climate of violence by implementing discriminatory practices that negatively affect young people’s likelihood of finding good jobs. Additionally, disputes over the control of these neighborhoods hinders territorial mobility amongst their inhabitants, which further reduces their opportunities in the labor market. In this context, a group of young people who find themselves socially excluded turn to violence, transgression, and crime as a means of accessing economic resources and goods with high symbolic value.
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Notes
- 1.
The ideas outlined in this paper are part of a research project currently in progress titled, “Between violence and employment: The dilemmas youth face in Central America’s marginalized, urban communities.” This project, which was developed in collaboration between FLACSO’s academic headquarters in Costa Rica and in El Salvador, receives financial support from the IDRC.
- 2.
The “maras” initially appeared in El Salvador following the United States’ massive deportation of young gang members during the second half of the 1990s. Upon arriving in El Salvador, these gangs began gaining turf at the neighborhood level in urban areas, and eventually extended their presence to the whole country. These youth gangs currently operate not only in El Salvador, but also in Honduras and Guatemala. The two most famous organizations are the Mara Salvatrucha and the Eighteenth Street Gang (also known as Barrio 18), although Barrio 18 split into two separate factions six years ago, known as Revolucionarios and Sureños. For an analysis of how Central America’s youth gangs originated and how they evolved, see: Argueta (2016), Murcia (2015), Saveninje (2009).
- 3.
Street gangs play a complex role in the neighborhoods they affect. On one hand, they are responsible for different types of violence (intimidation, beatings, assassinations, robberies, extortions). On the other hand, they serve as a “protection service” against threats posed by gangs from other localities; nonetheless, they also use violence to expand their territorial control. Finally, gangs may even end up establishing some of the norms that dictate how residents living in these neighborhoods interact. For an in-depth analysis of these issues, see: Arteaga (2016); Zetino et al. (2015), Savenije (2009), Savenije and Andrade-Eekhoff (2003), Cruz and others (2016).
- 4.
- 5.
In its extreme form, this practice leads to full-body searches that have the sole purpose of identifying symbols associated with gang membership, such as tattoos.
- 6.
This stereotype of household composition in low-income neighborhoods is inconsistent with reality. The survey mentioned previously confirms that in these neighborhoods the proportion of single-parent households with a female head-of-household is approximately 35%. This figure is not far from the national average in El Salvador and Costa Rica, where one-third of households report having a female head-of-household.
- 7.
In El Salvador, we observed that the few businesses that have defied this “taboo” by opening their doors to youth who were previously members of neighborhood gangs are also businesses with strong, evangelical principles.
- 8.
The literature on Central American street gangs considers the neighborhood (“barrio”) as key to understanding how gangs form and organize their social life. The “barrio” is a source of identity and pride, but also a resource for protection and safety. It is a space for extracting “taxes” (“rentas”) from residents and those who offer services or set up businesses inside the neighborhood. Savenije and Andrade-Eekhoff (2003), UCA (2004).
- 9.
- 10.
Participating in these types of activities requires having a broad knowledge of the local context, the organization’s social ties, and how to conduct criminal activities. In many cases, it is also necessary to be familiar with the initiation rites conducted by the street gangs and organized crime rings that control the local illicit economy.
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Salas, M.M., Sáinz, J.P.P. (2019). Youth, Labor Market Exclusion, and Social Violence in Central America. In: Cuervo, H., Miranda, A. (eds) Youth, Inequality and Social Change in the Global South. Perspectives on Children and Young People, vol 6. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3750-5_2
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