DURING THE PAST 35 YEARS, IN WHICH THE VILLAGE'S POPULATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN BELOW 1,500, THERE HAVE BEEN 77 HOMICIDES, OVER 100 WOUNDINGS, AND HUNDREDS OF SMALL ARMS EXCHANGES WITHOUT CASUALTIES. OVERALL THE HOMICIDE RATE HAS REACHED 2 MEN PER 1,000 KILLED PER YEAR. THE CULTURE'S EXTENSIVE SYSTEM OF ASSUMPTIONS SUPPORTS POLITICAL HOMICIDE AS INEVITABLE. TARASCANS ASSUME, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT PEOPLE ARE BASICALLY PASSIONATE, SOCIALLY INTERDEPENDENT, AMBIVALENT IN THEIR FEELINGS, EGOTISTICAL, BRAVE, MOTIVATED BY IDEALS, AND NOT SADISTIC BEYOND SHORT LIMITS. SOCIAL ASSUMPTIONS INCLUDE AN EGALITARIAN ETHOS, SHARP SEGREGATION OF MEN FROM WOMEN, A SENSE OF SOCIAL INTERDEPENDENCY WITH THE OBLIGATION FOR BLOOD VENGEANCE, THE ASSUMPTION THAT POLITICAL ACTION WILL BE RECIPROCATED, THE DIVISION OF THE COMMUNITY INTO TWO OR MORE LARGE POLITICAL FAMILIES, AND AUTONOMY OF INDIVIDUAL VILLAGES. TARASCAN POLITICAL IDEOLOGY RESTS ON ASSUMPTIONS OF COMMUNITY SOLIDARITY; THE JUSTIFIABILITY OF KILLING TYRANTS; THE SANCTITY OF LAND AND AGRARIAN VALUES; LOYALTY TO OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH; AND THE GOAL OF PEACE. FINALLY, THE STRUGGLE TO DOMINATE OTHERS HAS BECOME NOT ONLY AN INDIVIDUAL BUT ALSO A COMMUNITYWIDE PATTERN, EXEMPLIFIED BY CONSTANT POLITICAL ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE VILLAGE. BECAUSE OF ALL THESE ASSUMPTIONS, POLITICAL HOMICIDE IS ACCEPTED AS A MEANS BUT NOT AN END IN ITSELF. FOOTNOTES WHICH INCLUDE REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. FOR THE ENTIRE VOLUME AND RELATED CHAPTERS, SEE NCJ-63568-70. (CFW)