Political Landscapes Forests, Conservation, and Community in Mexico

About this book

Following the 1917 Mexican Revolution inhabitants of the states of Chihuahua and Michoacan received vast tracts of prime timberland as part of Mexico's land redistribution program. Although locals gained possession of the forests, the federal government retained management rights, which created conflict over subsequent decades among rural, often indigenous villages; government; and private timber companies about how best to manage the forests.

Christopher R. Boyer examines this history in Political Landscapes, where he argues that the forests in Chihuahua and Michoacan became what he calls "political landscapes" – that is, geographies that become politicized by the interactions between opposing actors – through the effects of backroom deals, nepotism, and political negotiations. Understanding the historical dynamic of community forestry in Mexico is particularly critical for those interested in promoting community involvement in the use and conservation of forestlands around the world. Considering how rural and indigenous people have confronted, accepted, and modified the rationalizing projects of forest management foisted on them by a developmentalist state is crucial before community management is implemented elsewhere.

Contents

Illustrations  
Preface  
Acknowledgments  
Introduction  

Part I. The Making of Revolutionary Forestry  
1. The Commodification of Nature, 1880-1910  
2. Revolution and Regulation, 1910-1928  
3. Revolutionary Forestry, 1928-1942  

Part II. The Development Imperative  
4. Industrial Forests, 1942-1958  
5. The Ecology of Development, 1952-1972  
6. The Romance of State Forestry, 1972-1992  
Conclusion. Slivers of Hope in the Neoliberal Forest  

Appendix 1. Federal Forestry Codes, 1926-2008  
Appendix 2. UIEFs, 1945-1986  
Notes  
Bibliography  
Index

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Biography

Christopher R. Boyer is Professor of History and Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He is the editor of A Land between Waters: Environmental Histories of Modern Mexico.