When Life Gives You Lemons: The Case of Mexico’s Popular Referendum as an Unconventional Adaptation of Transitional Justice

Jaime Olaiz González

doi:10.5294/dika.2026.35.1.3

Authors

Jaime Olaiz González Author Universidad Panamericana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5294/dika.2026.35.1.3

Keywords:

Unconventional adaptation, Mexico’s dirty war, Mexico’s war on the drug cartels, Mexico’s popular referendum, Murphy’s test

Abstract

This article explores the two predominant models of transitional justice (TJ) and the way each one may address the two most broad-gauged moments in Mexico that comprise unsolved legacies of human rights violations and the distinctive way in which each one of these moments fit—or not—the conventional model of TJ (CMTJ), or on the contrary, may fit an unconventional model of it (UMTJ). Through such distinction, we vindicate the relevance of shifting from the CMTJ to a more functional approach through unconventional adaptation (UATJ). We illustrate the plausibility of the UMTJ through the case of the 2020 popular referendum, which represented a silver lining for TJ in Mexico. It also introduces a test to determine the applicability of the UMTJ in conflicting societies that need to implement TJ strategies.

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