Collective Democracy and Cooperative Development in Chiapas, Mexico
Keith Hollinger
DOI: 10.2190/SH.6.2.g
Abstract
The IndÃgenas in Chiapas, Mexico have been engaged in community building for decades, particularly in the Lacandon forest. The people of Chiapas, Mexico have struggled for decades as organizations formed and collapsed as members disagreed over missions and objectives, or were co-opted by elites, representatives of elites, or officials in state and federal agencies. This process created an atmosphere in which hierarchical organizations and government/foreign aid are distrusted. In response, many people in Chiapas, particularly indigenous Mayans, have been seeking to build self-sufficient autonomy through collective democratic governance and cooperative economic development at the family, community, and regional levels. The purpose of this article is to show how the struggle for autonomy and economic survival, which has prompted to undertake democratization and economic development activities in autonomous communities developed by the Zapatistas, help to overcome crisis through practices that serve the needs of the community.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.