Agrarian Conflict and the State in Mexico

The manner in which people of la provincia adjust to the encroachment of outside political and especially economic forces is key to an understanding of the development of modern Mexico. The penetration of economically and politically marginal and geographically remote indigenous communities with traditional socioeconomic structures based on egalitarianism and reciprocity by so-called modern or capitalistic ways affects institutions from land tenure to kinship ties. It calls into question traditional modes of life and often leads to conflict both within the community and with outsiders. Conflict, especially disorganized and random conflict, within the community is generally tolerated, if not condoned, by outside elites and by the authorities; it helps to divide the community and facilitate manipulation and control from above. Coordinated and organized movements and rebellions that reach outside the community pose a more serious challenge, and responses range from repression to some degree of accommodation. Moreover, the elites and authorities often coordinate their actions; thus, even in the face of acquiescence to community pressure, ultimate control of the sociopolitical structures remains in the hands of the elites, now with official backing. Here we have one of the key ingredients in the formation and longevity of the postrevolutionary Mexican state and its official party, the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party PRI). Three historical-anthropological case studies examine this conflict and its relationship to the elites and the state. Each study approaches the topic from a different perspective, focusing on a different place and time. The work of Thomas Benjamin, a historian, offers the broadest geographical and longest chronological perspective. A Rich Land, a Poor People attempts to explain why the state of Chiapas, despite its great resource base, remains one of the poorest regions in Mexico

Acquiescence · Agrarian society · Collective action · Egalitarianism · Geography · Kinship · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science) · State formation · Law · Politics and Society in Latin America

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