The Borders of Suffering: Violence, History and Sovereignty in Mexican Museums

ABSTRACT Museums are at the center of national debate about the role of violence in constituting Mexican patriotism. Museum exhibitions contextualize and critique powerful national mythologies of victimhood, presenting them alongside narratives that eulogize the military and its mandate to protect the state and citizens. The article focuses on two key typologies of museum exhibitions relating to the border: historical museums of national becoming, and museums that disrupt historical narratives to focus on human vulnerability. Both consider the border as a site of encounter between the state and its other, normalizing violence and militarization. One locates suffering at a border site that can be encountered physically but is demarcated by historical time. The other is physically distanced but occurs in the contemporary moment. Reflecting on the implications of these approaches is urgent given the widespread violence that has killed more than 100,000 people at the hands of narcotraffickers and state agents.