ABSTRACT
To belong to Los Ñetas gang means, in part, to observe certain rules in the Liderato, the book of the Ñetas. Among the rules are trial procedures or “mesas disciplinarias” and a list of sanctions for transgressing the group’s norms called “afectados.” While the Ñetas have developed a complex legal order to resolve internal conflicts, trials are seldom used. In this chapter, I ask a number of questions regarding the use of these rules and their meanings for the members. For example, are the rules seldom applied because they are ineffective? What is the nature of these rules? Can we speak of a Ñeta’s law? And what is the role of these rules when they are not used in cases of conflict? This work is based on a multi-sited ethnography carried out over four years within the Ñetas subculture. I recount the history of the Ñetas, a prison “gang” from Puerto Rico which migrated to the northeast United States, Ecuador and Spain, analyzing their internal transformation and adaptation to the city. I will also show how members’ interpretations of these rules are also practices of self-improvement.
