A Semi‐Autonomous Mexican Peasant Community and Globalization: The Role of the Cacique (Broker) in Maintaining Traditional Agroecology

Abstract

AbstractAfter the Mexican Revolution of 1910, a peasant community of indigenous heritage retained a certain autonomy central to perpetuating its traditional agroecosystems. In great measure, this autonomy resulted from the cacique's opposition to the implementation of modern transportation systems. Thus, the region's physical isolation is deceptive but endured until the 1980s. The local leader impeded incorporation into wider markets, thwarting globalization. The community was articulated with the larger society through mechanisms which conserved its semi‐autonomy, revitalized its pre‐Revolution ties to the traditional regional market and political/administrative center, and promoted life styles of peasants with fewer resources who complemented open fields of basic subsistence crops with diverse fruit orchards, two traditional agroecosystems widespread in central Mexico, and who used sustainable water management practices to irrigate the orchards.