Document Type
Article
Department
Politics and Economics (CGU)
Publication Date
2010
Disciplines
Political Science | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
Abstract
A recent insight, gained by the authors after the conclusion of a major research project on Mexican drug groups, is that this insurgency has at its basis a spiritual, if not religious, component that threatens the underlying foundations of our modern Western value system. This component is derived from the well known cartel technique of offering an individual ¿Plata O Plomo?—take our silver or we will fill you with our lead. As a tactic taken by groups with a theological bent, such as La Familia, this offer becomes Faustian, join us and in the process give up your soul or die, a choice historically associated with incidents of religious conversion at the tip of a sword. That technique is typically carried out by young religions, such as militant Christianity and Islam, during their expansionistic phases. These post-battlefield mass conversions are considered by the victors as actually saving the souls of those joining the righteous ranks of God's chosen.
Rights Information
© 2010 Small Wars Foundation
Terms of Use & License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Bunker, Pamela L. and Bunker, Robert J. "The Spiritual Significance of ¿Plata O Plomo?” Small Wars Journal. 27 May 2010. smallwarsjournal.com: 1-4.
Included in
Political Science Commons, Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons
Comments
"The Spiritual Significance of ¿Plata O Plomo?" by Pamela L. Bunker and Robert Bunker is reprinted from Small Wars Journal per the Creative Commons license granted upon its original publication.