Estado de excepción neoliberal y resistencia en el sureste de México

Abstract

In November 2021, the President of Mexico (2018-2024) declared that the priority megaprojects of the National Development Plan (Maya Train, Isthmus of Tehuantepec Interoceanic Corridor, Dos Bocas Refinery) fall within the realm of national security. Public and private investments in these projects are directed towards southeastern Mexico, covering the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Yucatán, and Tabasco. These regions are home to indigenous peoples and communities that hold 45% of Mexico’s total social property. In some cases, these communities are visibly linked to national political organizations that defend land and territory. The decree is considered a state of exception applied to land-territory use, with dual implications. On one hand, it represents the undivided social field monopolized by monetary metrics. On the other hand, it signifies the expansion of a neocolonial condition promoted by the Mexican federal government, which marginalizes the voice of resistance in favor of adopting the capital logic defined by the stratification of the global economy. The methodology involves participatory action research since 2019, collaborative research through the coordination of workshops, caravans, marches, and political-community meetings, promoted in conjunction with assemblies fighting for territorial defense. We anticipate the increased use of such state of exception in response to the intertwined rise of health, environmental, and economic contingencies that drive the economic cycle, coupled with ineffective governmental policies formulated for regular times. In other words, the state of exception is activated to ensure the continuity of capital accumulation driven by the concentration of private property.