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Objective: To establish a thematic proposal for the management of knowledge of small-scale agricultural producers (peasants) and the strengthening of rural economic units in the state of Querétaro, to energize the social fabric and improve the quality of life of the rural population. Design/methodology/approach: A bibliometric study of the scientific production on peasant knowledge in Mexico was carried out, as well as an observational analysis focused on specific and general problems. According to the information obtained and the problems detected, three areas for knowledge management were established: technical-productive, managerial and entrepreneurial. Results: In the technical-productive area, training in good agricultural practices should be addressed, along with technological innovation and the generation of added value. In the management area, issues related with strategic management with a broad entrepreneurial vision that could help create strategies for agribusiness development. Concerning entrepreneurship, the internal and external factors of the environment stand out, which allow awakening their interest, encouraging leadership and direction for business development, in addition to promoting associativity in farming regions. The implementation of the topics proposed in the research will strengthen and boost small-scale agricultural production in the state of Querétaro. Limitations on study/implications: This study can serve as a reference for small-scale agricultural producers (peasant). Findings/conclusions: There is a great opportunity through knowledge management to increase the capacities, knowledge and skills of small-scale agricultural producers (peasants) in the state of Querétaro regarding technical-productive, managerial and entrepreneurial themes, which will generate economic, social and environmental impacts for the benefit of this rural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Internacional de Ciencias Sociales Interdisciplinares is the property of Common Ground Research Networks and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article examines the literature on popular liberalism in nineteenth-century Mexico and the shortcomings of two interpretations: popular liberalism as an alternative to elite liberalism, and popular liberalism as a strategy to ultimately pursue non-liberal ends. It argues that both interpretations tend to overstate the distance between the liberal elite and its popular supporters because of an unexamined, dichotomous conception of liberalism and the people (generally Indigenous and non-Indigenous peasants) as opposites. It draws its examples from studies of local politics and sides with the interpretation of 'liberalism tout court ' as the best available option to avoid reifications of liberalism and the popular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "The struggle for the defense of native corn" highlights the importance of preserving the diversity of native corn in Mexico. The country has 64 registered races of corn, which are essential for food and are part of a millennial culture developed by peasant communities. The article mentions the work of the Seeds of Life Foundation in the protection of native corn, as well as collaboration with grassroots organizations such as the Vicente Guerrero Group in Tlaxcala. It also emphasizes the celebration of National Corn Day and the importance of promoting the purchase of peasant products to guarantee a dignified life for communities. [Extracted from the article]

Among the numerous archaeological remains that recent LiDAR flights revealed in Guatemala and Mexico, agrarian features are the most abundant. Archaeologists today are compelled to revise their paradigms in terms of methodology and assessment of environmental appropriation for agriculture. The Malpaís de Zacapu in west Mexico is one example. Besides the discovery of a substantial Epiclassic occupation near the well-documented Postclassic urban centers of the area, LiDAR imagery brought to light a deeply modified agrarian landscape and thereby dramatically changed our understanding of human settlement in this lava flows complex. Focusing on the northern part of the Malpaís, this study uses archaeogeographical and soil science methods to assess ancient farming systems and their evolution. We updated the archaeological and soil maps of the area, combining traditional field survey techniques and LiDAR-derived data interpretation. This allowed us to identify residential zones and a wide range of associated agrarian features adapted to the variety and agronomic challenges of volcanic soils. We further implemented a production-consumption model to reconstruct agricultural strategies from the Epiclassic to the Middle Postclassic period, from self-reliance to the necessity of supra-local agricultural inputs, possibly foreshadowing the Tarascan state tribute system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes worker housing in Mexico during the industrialization process in the 19th century. It highlights the work of Martha Olivares Correa, "History of Mexican social housing," which addresses the concern for creating decent housing for workers after the Revolution. It also mentions the tenant movements in Mexico from 1918 to the 1940s. The book analyzes industrialization in Mexico in the 19th century and its impact on the formation of the working class, as well as the housing projects and worker colonies that emerged in the period from 1920 to 1940. It also describes proposals for minimal housing for workers and peasants, as well as solutions for worker housing during the Adolfo Ruiz Cortines period and proposals for peasant housing. [Extracted from the article]

The development of agroecology was born as a response, by peasant and indigenous social movements, to the situation of planetary environmental devastation and increased poverty suffered by contemporary humanity. For un decade, a movement to institutionalize agroecology has been taking place, raising questions and opening debates. Since 2018, the government of Mexico (2018-2024) implemented, on a national scale, the Sembrando Vida agroecological program, aimed at mitigating rural poverty and the destruction of the environment. This essay aims to contribute to the construction of an axis of analysis of the program, which is comprehensive, critical and rests of its intrinsic rationality. Based on the identification of the main elements of the program, as well as the historical context of neoliberal devastation of the countryside from which it starts and its location within the current agrarian policy of the Mexican government, it is concluded that a pertinent axis of analysis of the Program would have to do with the scope, limits and tendencies of Sembrando Vida on the processes of de-peasantization in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strategies of environmental conservation and use of natural resources at the national level, designed by international financial institutions (WB, IMF, IDB) and applied by the federal governments of Mexico during the last 30 years, have had the objective of control, expropriation, privatization and exploitation of these resources in favor of large transnational capitals. In the region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec this problem is more than evident. The strategy of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity have not stopped the devastation of this resource and have not favored the indigenous and peasant communities of the region (custodians of this wealth), but, on the contrary, have allowed their exploitation and privatization in favor of large companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ciencia Jurídica is the property of Universidad de Guanajuato and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the book "Aprendizajes del Movimiento Zapatista: De la insurgencia armada a la autonomía popular" (Learnings from the Zapatista Movement: From armed insurgency to popular autonomy), which analyzes the Zapatista Movement in Mexico. The book studies the Zapatista political praxis as a strategy for territorial defense and examines the different aspects of autonomy for territorial construction and self-determination. The Zapatista Movement is considered one of the most important examples of indigenous-peasant autonomy in the contemporary world. The text highlights the importance of the indigenous issue in the struggle for the emancipation of oppressed peoples and the need for a radical transformation of the national pact to incorporate indigenous people into the nation with justice and dignity. Additionally, the article mentions the metaphor of snails as a symbol of the Zapatista movement, representing the indigenous conception of cyclical time and resistance to the acceleration of modernity. The Zapatista Movement also recognizes the importance of the presence and participation of women in achieving true emancipation and autonomy. The text discusses the process of decolonizing femininity within the Zapatista Movement, emphasizing the importance of women's participation in political demands. The emancipation of Zapatista women is achieved through a pedagogy of the word, which values the formulation of policies from a feminine perspective. The Zapatista movement seeks to establish a political praxis based on autonomy, inspired by Paulo Freire. The Zapatista praxis is an experience of autonomy that produces a Latin American political theory, aiming for the liberation and emancipation of men and women. The text concludes with the Zapatista principles for a rebellious ethics, which include horizontality, persuasion instead of victory, and service instead of self-service. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Ecosistemas y Recursos Agropecuarios is the property of Universidad Juarez Autonoma de Tabasco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

How do subsistence communities conceptualize their seed sovereignty? What do peasants perceive to be the principal threats to their seed sovereignty and how do they respond to these threats?; and How do local seed sovereignty initiatives relate to the broader ideologies, goals, and strategies of the global seed sovereignty movement? Local conceptions of seeds as a commons are contributing to a multidimensional decommodification project of peasant agriculture and indigenous autonomy. I analyze one particular initiative targeting environmental deterioration and climate change, two of the most salient threats to these communities' seed sovereignty: efforts to halt widespread chemicalization of subsistence agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Secuencia: Revista de Historia y Ciencias Sociales is the property of Instituto de Investigaciones - Dr. Jose M. Luis Mora and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Historia (07169108) is the property of Universidad de Concepcion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad is the property of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Instituto de Biologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Despite the significant contextual differences between semi-nomadic herders in Kyrgyzstan and sedentary peasants in Mexico, a comparative study, based on ethnographic fieldwork, of the impact of patrimonialization on the two groups reveals similar processes of heritage marking. However, within this similarity this cross-analysis identifies two contrasting modes of domination that occur as a result of this analogous heritage process. By examining the local application of the heritage concept, as well as the connections that exist between the type of society, its history and the ethno-cultural management at work, this paper demonstrates how patrimonialization can stimulate divergent political mechanisms in the relationship between the State and the social groups concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Who are the peasants/Indigenous people and what is their role in the history and future of Mexico? Questioning the dominant version of the socio-political dynamics, I start with corn, a grain created in Mesoamerica, to develop one of most admired agroecological systems in the world. It contributes to good nutrition and health, (re)shaping social structures and the territory itself. Today's communities, transformed into a Communitarian Revolutionary Subject provide a model for post-capitalist societies. I apply the framework of Radical Ecological Economics to illustrate and accompany this dynamic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the declaration issued by the United Nations General Assembly on country folk, the responsibility arises to analyze the importance of targeted international recognition of people who live in and are from the countryside. Given this, our research aims to demonstrate the role played by organized farmers who produce organic and fair trade coffee in the process of food sovereignty in Mexico. Through interviews with rural families, this work highlights that despite the crises faced by country folk, they make great contributions to food sovereignty. In particular, those who are organized in long-term cooperatives such as the Coordinadora Estatal de Productores de Café del Estado de Oaxaca (CEPCO), which despite facing eradication policies, trade liberalization and even climate crisis, persist in their ways of life and in addition provide high quality food for urban society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomy should not be understood as an inherent quality of rural subjects but as fundamentally a political and cultural project. This paper will present an overview of the evolution of the idea, project, and practice of peasant and indigenous autonomy in Latin America from the 1990s to today. It will trace the origins of the process and examine how the different dimensions of the concept of autonomy (economic, political, ideological, and ethnic) came together in the early 1990s to form a coherent although contradictory political project, which attempted to present an alternative to neoliberalism and political paternalism. The paper will assess the extent to which this project addressed the main challenges that the different sectors of the peasantry faced with the neoliberal restructuring of the economy and the deployment of neoliberal multiculturalism in the region. Through the case studies of Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Mexico, the paper will argue that the autonomy projects entailed serious contradictions since their inception because by wanting to solve some problems through certain mechanisms, rural movements exacerbated other problems. The paper also highlights the difficulty that peasant and indigenous movements had through the years in maintaining a strong alliances with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "The Mexican Commune" by Jaime Ortega analyzes Bruno Bosteels' project on the history of the "Mexican commune". Bosteels has researched the history of Mexico from a sociological, political, and historical perspective, with the aim of understanding non-capitalist forms of political and social organization throughout Mexico's history. He uses various sources to reconstruct the history of the Mexican commune and its persistence over time. The text highlights the importance of the references contained in the Grundrisse and the "ethnological notebooks" in the theoretical construction of an alternative not anchored in the philosophy of history or the conception of progress. It also mentions the relationship between Mexican communism and the myth of Zapata and the organization rooted in the peasant-indigenous world, as well as the need to address the distribution and organization of labor in the forms of the commune and coexistence with the power of money. [Extracted from the article]

This article narrates the struggle of one cross-border company, Henry Workman Keller's Compañía del Rancho de San Isidro (CRSI), to reconcile moral and legal ownership of its lands in Baja California after 1911. Decades of Keller's correspondence and other archival collections in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, together with documents from the Instituto de Investigaciones Hist6ricas at the Universidad Aut6noma de Baja California in Tijuana, afford a rare behind-the-scenes examination of U.S. capitalist expansion in revolutionary Mexico. While historians have characterized the American presence south of the border as an "empire," this term occludes historical contingencies and overlooks the variegated power of borderland enterprises, CRSI records challenge such a generalization, and the company's history presents a case study in fragility. It shows how peasants with modest means could frustrate businessmen with vast networks, thereby exposing the uncertain nature of American capital. Far from an omnipotent, ubiquitous empire, U.S. economic expansion into Mexico depended on the particular venture, owner, and location. Title to acres did not necessarily correspond to power on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Guacamayas Ecotourism Center is an important benchmark in Mexico for the biocultural heritage of the jungle in Chiapas. Using a qualitative methodology and an exploratory approach, this work presents a historical-biographical approach to describe its main characteristics. In it we find particularities of its official foundation in 1996, in a natural reserve area of the Chiapas jungle, by a Chinanteco migrant indigenous group that populated this space after the agrarian reform of the 60’s in Mexico. Its cultural legacy, among other factors, made the Center prosper as an enterprise with a sustainable approach. Today the center describes looting and poaching among its threats, while its combat becomes one of its main defining tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Trashumante. Revista Americana de Historia Social is the property of Universidad de Antioquia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Textual is the property of Universidad Autonoma Chapingo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article deals with the emergence of the Nazas-Aguanaval group of priests in the northern region of La Laguna, in northern Mexico, after the Second Vatican Council and the 1968 Medellín Conference of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM). I argue that both the reformism of the Second Vatican council and the push for a "preferential option for the poor" provided the space for an alliance between the progressive priests of the Nazas-Aguanaval group and the Maoist activists of Política Popular (People's Politics, PP). In this context, it was the Nazas-Aguanaval priests who introduced Política Popular's Maoism in La Laguna and Chiapas among peasants and students. At the same time, the radical tradition and economic conditions of La Laguna made it possible for local left-wing activists to connect with transnational currents such as the Movement of Priests for the Third World and Christians for Socialism. Based on a broad array of sources—including oral histories, Maoist pamphlets, local newspapers, Mexican security archives, and documentation from Mexican and Latin American priests' organizations—this article brings together the regional history of protest in La Laguna, the historiography of the Global Sixties, and the history of the progressive factions of the Catholic Church in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work is to identify the rituals related for the protection of domestic animals raised on the Mayan “solares” of Yaxcaba and Yaxunah, Yucatan, Mexico. On the “solar” are especially raised domestic animals (chickens, turkeys and pigs), which are an important element for peasant families, because they are part of economy, their daily food, in the festivities, ceremonies and rituals to give continuity to family and communal life. Our results show that the Catholic families of Yaxcaba an Yaxunah continue to perform ceremonies such as k’eex loj, the loj, the jets’ lu’um and primicia de saka’ (sacred corn drink), the purpose of these ceremonies is to ask permission and to thank the “owners” of nature for the use that is made of the resources, which favors a relationship of balance with them, in this way the “Owners” will take care of entire “solar” and the inhabitants of this space, the family members and the animals raised are safeguarded from the “malos vientos” or k’as k’aas íik’, causing disease and calamities. This study highlights the vision of the world that persists in the peninsular Mayan communities, biocultural knowledge and practices are preserved that show the ways of relating to nature. The knowledge about the rituals of the owners of the site and a ritual specialist, called a spiritualist, is analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet of Things (IoT) technologies can greatly benefit from machine-learning techniques and artificial neural networks for data mining and vice versa. In the agricultural field, this convergence could result in the development of smart farming systems suitable for use as decision support systems by peasant farmers. This work presents the design of a smart farming system for crop production, which is based on low-cost IoT sensors and popular data storage services and data analytics services on the cloud. Moreover, a new data-mining method exploiting climate data along with crop-production data is proposed for the prediction of production volume from heterogeneous data sources. This method was initially validated using traditional machine-learning techniques and open historical data of the northeast region of the state of Puebla, Mexico, which were collected from data sources from the National Water Commission and the Agri-food Information Service of the Mexican Government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze agro ecology as a social movement in Mexico from a geohistorical and long-term perspective. Methodology: The analysis was carried out through a documentary review of the indigenous and peasant organizations that make up the agroecological social movement in Mexico, considering their geographic location, the struggle and defense of land and territory, and actions in favor of food sovereignty. Results: Agro ecology as a social movement is the result of the persistence of productive structures and historical relations, which had their origins in Mesoamerican production systems. Limitations: The present essay is the guideline for a more in-depth study on long-term agroecological processes, which will be nourished with a qualitative methodology, resulting from the ethnographic method, which will allow a closer approach to the experiences of the peasant and indigenous organizations observed here. Conclusions: Peasants and indigenous people who have maintained Mesoamerican production systems are characterized by ecological rationality in the face of forms of production that degrade the environment and culture. The search for productive alternatives, contrary to those of the agroindustrial model, are aimed at improving the living conditions of peasants and indigenous people and achieving their food sovereignty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Foro Internacional is the property of El Colegio de Mexico AC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Anales de Geografía de la Universidad Complutense is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Trace: Travaux et Recherches dans les Amériques du Centre is the property of Centro de Estudios Mexicanos & Centroamericanos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

During the Cold War, the influence of Maoism as a third way of establishing a new international order inspired several Latin American guerrilla groups, including some in Mexico. This article analyzes the influence of Maoism in Mexico in particular, and pays specific attention to how Florencio Medrano, a peasant leader, was motivated by Maoist thought to establish the Rubén Jaramillo Proletarian Neighborhood, a self-governing neighborhood, and how this site was considered a critical factor for his development as a guerrilla. In the continuing debate over the relationship between agency and structure, the life and work of Florencio Medrano evidences how both social context and personal history influenced his aspirations and demands. By conducting an analysis of primary and secondary sources, this article analyzes some elements of Maoist thought and its diffusion in Latin America in the context of the Cold War. In addition, the article explains the political formation of Florencio Medrano in the Mexican post-revolutionary period, examines Maoist influences on his political formation and participation in pro-communist organizations, and reviews Maoist influence on the organization of the Rubén Jaramillo Neighborhood. Finally, the conclusions emphasize how the peasant origins of Medrano gave rise to his particular understanding of Maoism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research looks at the Bracero Program and the Green Revolution in relation to their impact on rural peasant farmers in mid-twentieth-century Mexico. The Bracero Program and the Mexican Agricultural Program, which began the Green Revolution, both arose from a particular set of agricultural and economic concerns in the shadow of World War II, as the United States sought to shore up its relationship with Mexico. These contemporaneous interventions ultimately targeted the same rural populations and acted in tandem to disrupt the lives, health, and subsistence of Mexico's peasant farming class. Drawing upon archival records relating to the Rockefeller Foundation and numerous oral histories with braceros and their families, this article shows how rural families were driven to depend on the Bracero Program in the wake of developmental policies that disrupted the peasant economy and social structures. By examining the lives of braceros and the impact of the Mexican Agricultural Program, this article illustrates how the environmental and social injustices caused by these programs came together in a way that has been overlooked by previous critiques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pensamiento y Acción Multidisciplinaria is the property of Universidad Catolica del Maule. Escuela de Trabajo Social and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Textual is the property of Universidad Autonoma Chapingo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Textual is the property of Universidad Autonoma Chapingo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Textual is the property of Universidad Autonoma Chapingo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents the conception, advances, challenges and tensions that emerge from the proposal of an educational-pedagogical model for agroecology. For this, we present two educational experiences from micro-contexts in Mexico and Brazil, constructed by indigenous and peasant movements. One is the "U YITS KA'AN" Ecological Agriculture School, in Maní, Yucatán, Mexico, and the other is the São José High School, a rural school located in the 25 de Maio Settlement, in Madalena, Ceará, Brazil. We characterize the diversity, complexity, and combinations that permeate the strategies of the movements faced with the demand for agroecology education, and how these interface in the dispute for an educational model linked to the socio-historical context of the indigenous and peasant struggle in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relations between agricultural production, international migration, wage labour and processes of differentiation among peasant households. It does so based on the analysis of the ejido Jesús María in the northeast of the state of Guanajuato, Central Mexico. The history of this ejido and how Mexican neoliberal policies led to increased levels of migration and proletarianization since at least the early 1990s is presented. Then, it presents how in this context the production of asparagus for agro‐export developed on the irrigated lands of this ejido, showing that this process went hand in hand with social differentiation and important changes in the distribution of land and water. Then, it presents the results of a household and production survey that shows that most peasant households combine agricultural production with local urban and rural wage labour, migration, remittances and/or other economic activities. Households that can live from agriculture alone have had important capital investments in agricultural production coming from international migration and remittances. Based on these results, it argues that, as rural communities become increasingly dependent on external 'urban/global' capital, the rural/urban divide has become increasingly permeable with important consequences for peasant economies and related social differentiation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agricultura Sociedad y Desarrollo is the property of Colegio de Postgraduados and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: To analyse the potential of atole de plato to be considered as an element of agrotourism in El Estanco, municipality of Luvianos, State of Mexico, through the theory of social representations. Methodology: The study is based on an exploratory qualitative approach; through participant observation it was possible to identify the meanings and symbolism surrounding the elaboration of atole de plato for its use in tourism. Results: Using the theory of social representations, it was identified that atole de plato is a food with cultural, historical and social value, a situation that postulates that it is at a stage prior to its insertion into the tourism offer of rural destinations that have opted for tourism as a path towards development. Limitations: One of the limitations of the study is the difficulty of grounding the postulates of the theory in empirical operational terms, as well as the cultural hermeticism of the family group studied. Conclusions: The study concludes that atole de plato has latent potential for inclusion in the local agro-tourism offer; however, it is necessary to establish an integrated offer with other community resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s, many of neoliberalism's policies for growth and development have contributed to the deterioration of living conditions for rural peasants who are marginalized and unwilling or unable to abandon their lands. In every nation in which this phenomenon is prevalent, the resulting impoverishment of rural peasants has motivated numerous academic studies and povertyalleviation programs. Concurrently, peasants have been developing and modifying their strategies for social reproduction, under conditions that are usually uncertain and restrictive. Here, we describe the design and implementation of a serious board game called The Flow of Peasant Lives (TFPL). TFPL is a complex but player-friendly game that was developed and parameterized using information and first-hand knowledge that the authors gained through 15 years of interaction and discussion with peasant residents of La Sepultura Man in the Biosphere-United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas, Mexico. The game was implemented in November 2017 in workshops held in six rural communities in the Sierra Madre of Chiapas, Mexico. During the workshops, 126 participants made 21,600 recorded decisions about capacity allocations during 393 simulated years of rural life. Strategies followed by members of rural households (as a team) led the game along ascendant, descendant, and oscillatory trajectories in the reproduction of capabilities, as is actually the case in rural life contexts. The great majority of academic approaches seeks to influence the transformation of rural life starting from preconceived notions about peasants' needs. In contrast, TFPL is a socialimmanent learning tool that provides a safe, fun venue where rural households can make their realities explicit, exchange ideas, explore possibilities for action, and discuss what needs to be changed. It has great potential for transfer to other rural contexts because it balances research components that are nomothetic (general) with ones that are ideographic (particular). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corn is the most researched cereal of agricultural products in Mexico. In the country, the crop is sown mainly under the temporary modality and in the spring-summer productive cycle. Corn (Zea mays L.) is an essential component of the diet of Mexicans, with an average per capita consumption of 120 kg, which is why it is important to observe the interconnections that exist between corn producers and how they have contributed significantly very important in the first instance to that of your family, community and regional scope. The research was carried out in the winter 20192020 in the municipality of Huandacareo, Michoacán. The objectives of this work was to analyze the problem of peasant economic organization; as well as show the costs of the precarious organization for the corn producer. 68 semi-structured interviews were conducted with conventional corn producers, which represented 100% of the sample. The results show that the problems of the existing peasant organizations are the client relationship, the short time of the producers, demagoguery, favoritism in the support, differences of interests and the smallholding. Likewise, the barriers that prevent the emergence of new organizations are the lack of resources and an organizational culture, envy, indisposed leaders, bad experiences from the past, incorrect public policy, little information and the search for short-term benefits. Indirect costs for the producer of the precarious organization are the purchase of expensive inputs, sale of products at market prices, little technical advice and a slow technology adoption process due to the scarce use of credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mexico, industrially grown and transformed foods have seen their consumption explode over the past half-century and soft drinks embody an emblematic example of the impact these shifts can have on health, traditional foodways, and family agriculture. This study compared the role of sodas with a traditional maize beverage, pozol, in the state of Chiapas, specifically among rural and urban secondary school youth. We found that students find sodas to be desirably "refreshing" and "tasty," and associated them with wealthier social classes and an alluring vision of modernity. Pozol, on the other hand, was seen as "peasant food" or a poor-person's drink. Nonetheless, most students have not abandoned its consumption and indeed, for many it represented their most significant daily liquid intake. Importantly, it was seen as more than refreshing libation, serving as a vital food source. We also found that within Chiapanecan society, pozol in fact represents a host of varying versions, whose consumption parallels ethnic, socioeconomic, and rural/urban factors. Ultimately, some traditional foods have maintained a certain resilience in the face of more globalized foods, in part because of their perceived nutritional and cultural value, thus helping to reinforce the resilience of the peasant agroecology they depend on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What role do emotions play in the creation of interpretive frameworks that allow communities to respond effectively to the challenges posed by climate change? This article explores this question empirically from the perspective of small indigenous peasant communities in the central region of Chiapas, Mexico. The study shows that the spiritual, cultural and material meanings that indigenous communities assign to the traditional milpa agroecosystem and to their native seeds, particularly maize, converge in a conjunction of emotions that enables these communities to recognize the risks posed by environmental degradation and climate change, and to mobilize politically around the frame of seed sovereignty. Particularly important is the informal system by which children inherit maize seed from their parents, which imposes on new generations the moral and social obligation of reproducing the milpa. This reproduction is necessary to keep alive the spirits of their ancestors and deities, which are thought to be embodied in the seeds, and to preserve the environmental conditions needed for future generations to live from the maize and the land. The regional social movement around seed sovereignty embraces and amplifies the emotions that underlie this moral and cultural commitment, at the same time as it emphasizes the risks posed by conventional agricultural practices (agrochemical use, deforestation, and quasi-monoculture) and environmental deterioration to the sustenance of the milpa and seeds. Three key foci comprise the agenda of this movement: agroecology, agrobiodiversity conservation, and adaptation of the milpa to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, rural studies have transitioned from analyzing internal agrarian dynamics within peasant societies to exploring contractual relationships in a vertical manner between agribusiness and peasants with respect to food production and marketing. The present study follows the tradition of classical agrarian research in order to develop an ascendant Foucauldian analysis that is both genealogical (historical) and critical (addressing current effects) of peasant micropower that domestic groups reproduce in their local agrifood supply system in six ejidos of the Sierra Madre region of Chiapas, Mexico. This study used a mixed methodology consisting of a regional ethnography, surveys regarding the peasant economy with 120 domestic groups, interviews with founders of the rural communities and directors of local peasant organizations, factorial statistical and cluster analyses, and visualization of social networks. As a result of the study, we (a) elucidate sociohistorical conditions that have resulted in differentiation among different types of peasants within the micro-region, (b) analyze contemporary social dynamics that have led to polarization between two principal sets of domestic groups based on their means of production, and (c) show how the fact that the majority of domestic groups of the micro-region experience seasonal food scarcity and lack formal employment has led to low rural wages and monopolization of the internal agrifood supply system by those peasants who have greater means of production. We conclude by reflecting on peasant micropower as a phenomenon that can be found in social relations of many agrarian regions around the world, in which the challenge would be to understand its processes of reproduction, analyze effects of this micropower, and propose alternative academic approaches that may contribute to generating public policy and political action to counteract rural inequality. • Peasant micropower is reproduced in many rural regions around the world. • Studying peasant micropower requires ascendant rather than vertical analyses. • Many rural social programs disregard peasant micropower and thereby reinforce it. • Academic research should contribute to counteract inequality reproduced by peasant micropower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]