The construction of the enemy. Narratives around the sexualexploitation of women in Tlaxcala

Abstract

The state of Tlaxcala has been media-labeled as the “cradle of pimps”, and is recognized as a key node/hub
within human trafficking networks for the purposes of sexual exploitation at an international level. However, the
narratives built around this entity have taken it from being considered “the paradise of sexual exploitation” to a
place where it is claimed that “trafficking does not exist.” This article aims to analyse the narratives built around
the sexual exploitation of women in Tlaxcala, which have become key inputs to make a complex phenomenon
intelligible, or not. Based on the documentary analysis, on hemerography, diagnostics and academic research,
the most active voices were taken up, contrasted and grouped into four types of actors: academia, the media, civil
society and the State. Throughout this research, it was identified that, being a phenomenon of difficult access,
the appropriation and reproduction of these narratives has also represented the possibility of constructing the
phenomenon/“enemy”, of characterising it, describing it, hiding it or manipulating it. Thereforex, the discursive
creation of the enemy constitutes an exercise of power and control of what is said or silenced about it; who
authorises or invalidates it. This exercise has profound repercussions in the invisibility of violence and in the
omissions in the actions of the authorities.