Biodiversity and Tourism as Development Alternatives for Indigenous Peoples

Abstract

This chapter discusses tourism and biodiversity as the development alternatives for the indigenous peoples in Mexico. The Plural National Indigenous Assembly for Autonomy (ANIPA) is a national organization that includes fifty-four of the fifty-six officially recognized indigenous peoples in Mexico. It has worked for a series of reforms that are always aimed toward reclaiming autonomy and the right of self-determination for those peoples. The chapter stresses that the program of indigenous tourism should not be the only alternative of ANIPA; there are many other options that exist within their indigenous territories. However, it notes that the aim of ANIPA is to take advantage of this opportunity and to obtain that to which the indigenous peoples are entitled.