AUTONOMOUS PROCESSES AND CONFLICTUALITY IN THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY OF SAN ANDRÉS TOTOLTEPEC, CIUDAD DE MEXICO

Abstract

In Mexico, the autonomies led by indigenous peoples have been claiming their place in the diverse range of social struggles in Mexico since the cycle of anti-neoliberal struggles that began in the 1990s. Since 2010s, the case of the indigenous community of San Andrés Totoltepec (SAT) in Mexico City is part of this context. Based on this experience, the issues that motivated this effort are: How did the process of struggle and recognition of SAT as an indigenous people occur? Who are the subjects involved in the conflicts within the community, and what are their interests? How does the organisation of community life manifest itself in practice, amidst conflict in SAT? To answer these questions, a literature review and field research were conducted, including observations and semi-structured interviews. The results evidence a quite explicit conflict around real estate speculation in the SAT territory. But despite the ongoing struggle for recognition by the Mexican state – already achieved through legal means - the Community Government Council (CGC) tries to prevent the advancement of the real estate sector. But who is this sector? Articulated among themselves, this sector consists of the construction companies interested in building a housing unit in the area; the Popular Congress of Mexico City; and the current government of the Tlalpan Mayor's Office (PRD-PRI-PAN coalition). Yet, amidst the storm, the CGC has been able to prefigure counter-hegemonic forms of political exercise to organise community life.