Lynchings can seem an OK response in a country where corruption dominates the judicial system just like everything else and does certainly not offer much protection and equality to the poor... the majority of the people. Many times, gangsters and criminals have some police protection too... so again, lynchings seem to be the only way for some communities to gain some sort of justice, set the record straight or rid themselves from those who pray on them.
But there is also the hot "bloodness" of our locals mixed with higher testosterone and a lack of being able to argue difficult situations out vocally in a focused manner. This may indeed have led to false "convictions" and executions by mobs... yet, the question remains, if they are more often than the rigged convictions of innocents in this countries courts of (paid) law.
Meanwhile, "We" the ex-pats may look at all this like thru the virtual "safety glass window" of our computer and tv screens, then after all, we don't rob, break in or assault people, now do we. Yet, there is one circumstance that can propel most any of us into a similar circumstance: A traffic accident with deaths or critically injured. Crowds quickly assemble and emotions can fly extremely high and quickly deteriorate into random mass aggression, especially if friends of family of the victim(s) are present.
Police and others have recommended not only to me, to try to flea the scene of such accidents when ever possible and surrender into protection at the next police station, because the risk of "lynchings", matchetazos and other aggressions. A behavior which can pose questions of morale, when it comes to choose to leave a hurt person unattended for one's own safety.
... J-D.