Read more
This study focuses on Amuzgo Indian communities of the Costa Chica of Guerrero state in Mexico in order to analyze the indigenous struggle for land and its relationship to ethnic identity and culture. Primary archival data and field research reveal a historical profile of this multi-ethnic region with a long and fascinating history of resistance to non-Indian control of communal lands and labor. The dynamics of 19th century liberal economic reforms, privatization of Indian lands, militarization, interventions of foreign capital, class conflicts, and impoverishment are reflected in contemporary processes in the Costa Chica. The image of the resilient peasant, or "campesino, masks negative aspects of peasant status in the class structure, including poverty and superexploitation of family labor, and the intra and inter-familial conflicts that are a significant aspect of daily life. Case studies of land conflicts explore these class issues, as well as the relationship between gender inequalities and insecurities of land tenure. Indian communal lands ("ejidos) are more than an economic means of agricultural production; such lands are also the basis of cultural reproduction and provide a framework in which political resistance can emerge. Bibliography. Index
List of contents
Preface, Acknowledgments, List of Illustrations, Glossary, List of Acronyms, 1 Representation and Indigenous Communities, 2 The Amuzgos of the Costa Chica, 3 Amuzgo Communities, the State, and The Revolution, 4 Agrarismo and the Quest For Land in the Post-Revolutionary Period, 5 Defense of Community, 6 Land Divisions and Family Fissions, 7 Land Insecurity and Family Relations, 8 Re-visioning Indigenous Communities, Bibliography, Index
About the author
Norberto Valdez
Summary
This study focuses on Amuzgo Indian communities of the Costa Chica of Guerrero state in Mexico in order to analyze the indigenous struggle for land and its relationship to ethnic identity and culture. Primary archival data and field research reveal a historical profile of this multi-ethnic region with a long and fascinating history of resistance to non-Indian control of communal lands and labor. The dynamics of 19th century liberal economic reforms, privatization of Indian lands, militarization, interventions of foreign capital, class conflicts, and impoverishment are reflected in contemporary processes in the Costa Chica. The image of the resilient peasant, or campesino , masks negative aspects of peasant status in the class structure, including poverty and superexploitation of family labor, and the intra and inter-familial conflicts that are a significant aspect of daily life. Case studies of land conflicts explore these class issues, as well as the relationship between gender inequalities and insecurities of land tenure. Indian communal lands (ejidos ) are more than an economic means of agricultural production; such lands are also the basis of cultural reproduction and provide a framework in which political resistance can emerge. Bibliography. Index
