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Emerging from decades of turmoil, late nineteenth-century Mexico City was a capital in transition. Yet as the city (and its republic) embraced technological and social change, it still faced perceptions of widespread crime and disorder. Accordingly, the Porfirian government relied on an elite group of government officials, prominent citizens, politicians, urban professionals, and newspaper editors to elevate the Mexican nation from its perceived backward condition. Influenced by prevailing social theories, such as positivism and social Darwinism, this ruling class sought not only modernization but also the imposition of national morals. While elites sought to guide and educate the middle class toward this ideal, they viewed the growing underclass with apprehension and fear. Through a careful examination of judicial records, newspapers, government documents, and travelers’ accounts, The Imagined Underworld uncovers the truth behind six of nineteenth-century Mexico’s most infamous crimes, including those of the serial killer “El Chalequero.” During his sensational trial, ruling elites linked the killer’s villainous acts with the impoverished urban world he inhabited and victimized. This pattern was not limited to the most nefarious criminals; rather it would be repeated for all crimes committed by the poor. In an effort to construct a social barrier between the classes, elites invented a dangerous urban periphery populated by imaginary Mexicans—degenerate, deviant, and murderous. However, the Porfirian elite did not count on middle-class and police involvement in crime—and in numerous incidents, including a deadly love triangle, elites were betrayed by their own role in criminality. By analyzing the cases used to forge the underworld and those that defied its myth, Garza uncovers the complex reality that existed beyond the Porfirian ideals of order and progress. (20081001)
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The Imagined Underworld The Imagined Underworld Sex, Crime, and Vice in Porfirian Mexico City James Alex Garza University of Nebraska Press | Lincoln & London © 2007 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Catalogingin-Publication Data Garza, James Alex. The imagined underworld: sex, crime, and vice in porfirian Mexico City / James Alex Garza. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-8032-2215-1 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Crime—Mexico—Mexico City—History—19th century. 2. Criminals—Mexico—Mexico City—Biography. 3. Mexico City (Mexico)—Social conditions. I. Title. hv6815.m4g37 2007 364.10972'5309034—dc22 2007020017 Set in Quadraat. For my wife, Jennifer, and my children, James, David, and Katherine Contents List of Illustrations . . . viii Acknowledgments . . . ix Introduction . . . 1 1. Charting the Imagined City . . . 12 2. The Terror of Peralvillo, “El Chalequero” . . . 38 3. Love, Betrayal, and Death in the Underworld . . . 71 4. Organized Crime and the Porfirian State . . . 97 5. Disease, Decay, and the Strange Case of Federico Abrego and María Barrera . . . 131 6. Politics, Corruption, and the Arnulfo Arroyo Affair . . . 155 Conclusion . . . 179 Notes . . . 183 Bibliography . . . 201 Index . . . 213 Illustrations 1. “Los Templados” . . . 17 2. “Scenes from the 1908 Trial of Francisco Guerrero” . . . 69 3. Exhumation of María Barrera . . . 145 Acknowledgments This book would not have been possible without the help of innumerable friends, colleagues, and archivists whom I have met over the years. Archival and library staffs in both Mexico and the United States provided constant assistance. The staff of the Archivo General de la Nación in Mexico City went beyond the bounds of duty to help me locate valuable information, in particu