Mexican Mafia Research Paper

Mexican Mafia There are many prison gangs in California. Just to name a few are the Aryan Brotherhood, La Nuestra Familia, and the gang of this essay, The Mexican Mafia. Most prison gang’s such as The Mexican Mafia were formed as a protection from other gangs and eventually became the first prison gang in California. To get to know how this gang became one of the most powerful prison gangs, I will discuss the history of the gang, the gang’s core beliefs and, how to identify gang members by their tattoos and symbols that are associated them with them. The Mexican Mafia was established in 1957 at a youth facility in Tracy, California. The gang is also known as La Eme which represents the letter M in Spanish and the thirteenth letter
Another of the La Eme beliefs are these four rules: Don’t snitch (which means do not tell or talk to police), you can’t be homosexual, a coward, or go against another member of the gang. If any of the rules are broken the punishment is death. Also according to gang policy, “a member of the Mexican Mafia may not be murdered without prior approval by a vote of three members, yet the murder of non-members requires no formal approval” (The Mexican Mafia Prison Gang). The gang believes very much in their gang’s beliefs even as much as they believe in the tattoos that symbolize their gang. Lastly, the gang have many symbolized tattoos that represent their gang. One of the most recognized tattoos that members have embedded on them is the number thirteen. The number thirteen represents the letter M, which is the thirteen letter in the alphabet. Other tattoos and symbols are Initials "EME." The Mexican flag symbols such as the eagle with a snake in conjunction with the initials "EME." A single hand print, usually black in color. The EME symbol of eternal war or the initials MM or M. La Eme members take these symbolized tattoos as serious tattoos that represent the gang that they will live and die