10.2190/SH.6.2.g DNT3224R2648157N 7 Collective Democracy and Cooperative Development in Chiapas, Mexico 205 223 20120913 20120913 20120913 20120913 DNT3224R2648157N.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=DNT3224R2648157N 2 Keith Hollinger Virginia Tech, Christiansburg, Virginia The <i>Indígenas</i> 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. self-help cooperative development sustainable development Chiapas Mexico sustainable development democratization Bobrow-Strain, A. (2007). <i>Intimate enemies: Landowners, power, and violence in Chiapas.</i> Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Cal y Mayor, A. B. (2003). The de facto autonomous process: New jurisdictions and parallel governments in rebellion. In J. Rus, R. A. Hernández-Castillo, & S. L. Mattiace (Eds.), <i>Mayan lives, Mayan utopias.</i> Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. Earle, D., & Simonelli, J. M. (2005). <i>Uprising of hope: Sharing the Zapatista journey to alternative development.</i> Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. Eber, C., & Kovic, C. (Eds.). (2003). <i>Women of Chiapas: Making history in times of struggle and hope.</i> New York: Routledge. Harvey, N. (2005/1998). <i>The Chiapas rebellion: The struggle for land and democracy.</i> Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Hernández-Castillo, R. A. (2001). <i>Histories and stories from Chiapas: Border identities in southern Mexico.</i> Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. Jaffee, D. (2007). <i>Brewing justice: Fair trade coffee, sustainability, and survival.</i> Berkeley: University of California Press. Jung, C. (2008). <i>The moral force of indigenous politics: Critical liberalism and the Zapatistas.</i> New York: Cambridge University Press. Junne, G., & Verkoren, W. (Eds.). (2005). <i>Postconflict development: Meeting new challenges.</i> Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. Marcos, S. I. (2007). <i>The speed of dreams: Selected writings, 2001-2007.</i> San Francisco, CA: City Lights. Martinez-Torres, M. E. (2006). <i>Organic coffee: Sustainable development by Mayan farmers.</i> Athens, OH: Ohio University Center for International Studies. Nash, J. C. (2001). <i>Mayan visions: The quest for autonomy in an age of globalization.</i> New York: Routledge. Netting, R. M. (1993). <i>Smallholders, householders: Farm families and the ecology of intensive, sustainable agriculture.</i> Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Rothschild-Whitt, J. (1979). The collectivist organization: An alternative to rationalbureaucratic models. <i>American Sociological Review, 44</i>, 509-527. Rothschild, J., & Whitt, J. A. (1986). <i>The cooperative workplace.</i> Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rus, J., Hernández-Castillo, R. A., & Mattiace, S. (Eds.). (2003). <i>Mayan lives, Mayan utopias: The indigenous peoples of Chiapas and the Zapatista rebellion.</i> Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. Sandelowski, M., & Barroso, J. (2007). <i>Handbook for synthesizing qualitative research.</i> New York: Springer. Speed, S. (2008). <i>Rights in rebellion: Indigenous struggle and human rights in Chiapas.</i> Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Tangoitalia.com (n.d.). <i>Café Zapatista.</i> Retrieved May 12, 2011 from <a target="_blank" href='http://tangoitalia.com/zapatistas/cafe_coops_en.htm'>http://tangoitalia.com/zapatistas/cafe_coops_en.htm</a> Zapatistacoffee.com (n.d.). <i>Project Café Para la Vida Digna.</i> Retrieved May 12, 2011 from <a target="_blank" href='http://www.zapatistacoffee.com/#BackgroundonCPLD'>http://www.zapatistacoffee.com/#BackgroundonCPLD</a>