Abstract

CAPO VALDIVIA, Zinnia V.. Clandestinity, taxation and tolerance: Opium in the official discourse, Mexicali, Mexico 1915-1916. Culturales [online]. 2015, vol.3, n.2, pp.77-111. ISSN 2448-539X.

This paper presents an analysis of the official discourse related to the taxation of opium commerce and consumption in Mexicali, Baja California. It focuses on the Tax to Opium Factories and the Payment for Importing the Narcotic that the political leader of the Distrito Norte de la Baja California, Esteban Cantú, decreed in 1915. This tax contradicted federal dispositions and international agreements. This paper explains the sociopolitical and cultural context that favored the implementation, though briefly, of the tax policy. Special attention is paid to the intersubjective meanings that accompanied policies and statements of government officials. Based on this, race prejudice, xenophobia/nationalism and "scientific" notions (degenerationism) were identified and used to justify an institutionalized "tolerance" toward the commerce of opium in Mexicali.

Keywords : official discourse; intersubjective meanings; opium; taxation; Mexicali.

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