Review of Irmgard Emmelhainz and Sayak Valencia's Works on Mexican Neoliberalism and Cultural Theory
Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado reviews three books by Irmgard Emmelhainz and Sayak Valencia, analyzing Mexican neoliberalism through cultural theory. Emmelhainz's 'La tiranía del sentido común' (2016) examines how neoliberal governance becomes 'common sense,' affecting art, architecture, and subjectivity, with critiques of institutions like MUAC and Centro Cultural Digital Estela de Luz. Valencia's 'Capitalismo Gore' (2010), translated in 2018 by Semiotext(e), explores 'gore capitalism'—extreme violence as an economic tool—linking it to narcoculture, femicide, and masculinity, using concepts like the 'endriago subject.' Both authors, non-traditional academics, employ feminist and interdisciplinary perspectives to address Mexico's neoliberal experience, marked by violence (300,000 deaths since 2000) and economic policies since 1985. Their work complements historical studies by Fernando Escalante Gonzalbo and María Eugenia Romero Sotelo, engaging with theorists like Wendy Brown and David Harvey. Emmelhainz draws on Franco 'Bifo' Berardi's 'semiocapitalism,' while Valencia references Jean Baudrillard and Paul B. Preciado. The review highlights how these books fill gaps in understanding neoliberalism's cultural and gendered dimensions in Mexico, contrasting with liberal or orthodox Marxist narratives in Mexican intellectual circles.
Key facts
- Irmgard Emmelhainz published 'La tiranía del sentido común' in 2016 with Paradiso in Mexico City.
- Sayak Valencia's 'Capitalismo Gore' was originally published in 2010 in Barcelona by Melusina, with a Mexican edition in 2016 by Paidós and an English translation in 2018 by Semiotext(e).
- Mexico has experienced an estimated 300,000 deaths due to violence since the 21st century, often mislabeled as the 'Drug War.'
- Neoliberal reforms in Mexico began in 1985, paralleling democratic transition away from PRI hegemony.
- Emmelhainz and Valencia are non-traditional academics: Emmelhainz is an adjunct scholar, and Valencia is a faculty member at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, also a poet and performance artist.
- Valencia's concept of 'gore capitalism' links extreme violence to neoliberal economics, using examples from narcoculture and femicide in cities like Juárez and Tijuana.
- Emmelhainz critiques neoliberal subjectivity in art and urban space, referencing institutions like the Soumaya Museum and Jumex Museum.
- The review references other scholars, including Fernando Escalante Gonzalbo, María Eugenia Romero Sotelo, Wendy Brown, and David Harvey.
Entities
Artists
- Irmgard Emmelhainz
- Sayak Valencia
- Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado
- Fernando Escalante Gonzalbo
- María Eugenia Romero Sotelo
- Pablo González Casanova
- Jorge Cadena Roa
- Teresa Margolles
- Santiago Sierra
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Ariella Azoulay
- Alain Badiou
- Gilles Deleuze
- Slavoj Žižek
- Jean Baudrillard
- Gilles Lipovetsky
- Paul B. Preciado
- Wendy Brown
- David Harvey
- Eva Ilouz
- Lauren Berlant
- Sianne Ngai
- Franco 'Bifo' Berardi
- Alenka Zupančič
- Evo Morales
- Néstor Kirchner
- Cristina Kirchner
- Andrés Manuel López Obrador
- Felipe Calderón
- Marcelo Ebrard
- Oswaldo Zavala
- Stuart Day
- Amy Sara Carroll
- Ryan Rashotte
- Curtis Marez
- Charles Bowden
- Rita Segato
- Sergio González Rodríguez
Institutions
- Paradiso
- Melusina
- Semiotext(e)
- Paidós
- Grupo Planeta
- El Colegio de la Frontera Norte
- Horizontal
- e-flux
- Taurus
- El Colegio de México
- Fondo de Cultura Económica
- Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI)
- Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN)
- SEMEFO
- Venice Biennale
- Soumaya Museum
- Jumex Museum
- Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC)
- Centro Cultural Digital Estela de Luz
- University of Arizona Press
- Vanderbilt University Press
- University of Texas Press
- Palgrave Macmillan
- University of Minnesota Press
- MIT Press
- Oxford University Press
- Polity
- Lawrence and Wishart
- Minor Compositions
- Nation Books
- Tinta Limón
- Siglo XXI
- Era
- Bucknell University Press
- ARTMargins
- ARTMargins Online
Locations
- Mexico City
- Mexico
- Barcelona
- Spain
- Los Angeles
- United States
- St. Louis, MO
- Palestine
- Bolivia
- Argentina
- Ciudad Juárez
- Tijuana
- Guatemala
- Colombia
- Guangzhou
- London
- Cambridge
- Oxford
- Minneapolis
- Austin
- Nashville
- Tucson
- Lewisburg
- New York
- Buenos Aires
- Madrid
Sources
- ARTMargins —
- ARTMargins —