Redefined Nationalism in Building a Movement for Indigenous Autonomy in Southern Mexico

Abstract

This paper discusses the differential historical meanings of indigenous autonomy in eastern Chiapas and in central and eastern Oaxaca. In the Lacandon jungle region, historical circumstances have given way to a model of indigenous autonomy focused on the creation of pluri‐ethnic autonomous regions. In Oaxaca, a tradition of autonomous indigenous municipios and animosity between indigenous communities has resulted in a model of mono‐ethnic autonomy realized variously in different settings. The paper also analyzes the way that pueblos indios with different historically‐based understandings of “autonomy” come together. The critical factor is a shared sense of reconstructed nationalism as created through local and regional histories generated from below which claim a place in Mexican national culture.