How did a local protest motivated by the murder of a poet's son grow into a national social movement? In this article, I examine the role of framing in the upward scale shift of the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD), a contentious actor that brought together victims of the Mexican war on crime, activists, and organizations to protest against violence. Following recent work on frame analysis, I analyze the different and contrasting reasons that led several groups from across the country to align with the MPJD's frames and find them as resonant. In addition, I discuss why, despite the existence of common goals, ideological incompatibilities caused multiple MPJD allies to withdraw their participation in the alliance shortly after the latter's initial actions.
Johan Gordillo-García holds a PhD in Sociology from The University of Edinburgh. His research focuses on political sociology, mainly on social movements, contentious politics, and theories of power. Email: johangordillogarcia@gmail.com; ORCID ID: