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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. James Alex Garza is an
assistant professor of history and ethnic studies at the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln.
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