Environmental self-organized activism: emotion, organization and collective identity in Mexico

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer an analysis of Mexican self-organized grassroots environmental groups’ activism. Design/methodology/approach Based on fieldwork in the State of Jalisco (Mexico), where the authors have carried out in-depth interviews with members of four self-organized collectives which are defending their territories, and following the sociological framework on emotions and protest. Findings The authors will show: how and where activism begins; the role of the emotions in various steps of mobilization (growth and decline) and in the construction of collective identity; as well as the role of emotions in the organizational and strategical choices. Originality/value The proposal aims to highlight the organizational forms of activism of self-organized grassroots environmental groups in Mexico through a sociological lens in which the emotional dimension of the protest matters to a great extent.