Abstract
Based upon twelve months of anthropological fieldwork in Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, this article uses political ecology and theoretical work on ideology to examine how local residents use the concept of sustainability to advocate for alternative visions of development. Conceptually, the idea of sustainability has a long, often conflicted history. As political ecologists have pointed out, sustainability can be everything from a tool of dominance and pacification to a strident defense of environment, place, and local rights. Between 2010 and 2012, the residents of Cabo Pulmo waged a campaign against a large-scale tourism development that was perceived as a threat to local livelihoods and environmental health. They deployed the concept of sustainability during this campaign, and afterwards, as a way to build local solidarity in the face of increasing development pressures. Sustainability works as a temporary ideological tool that transcends internal disputes during intense conflicts over the meaning of development.Keywords: Sustainability, ideology, development, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Highlights
Cabo Pulmo, BCS, MexicoCabo Pulmo is located at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, approximately an hour north of the Los Cabos tourism zone (Figure 1, 2)
In the community of Cabo Pulmo, the concept of sustainability resonates beyond the concerns, politics, and interests of local residents
An entire edited volume dedicated to Cabo Pulmo focuses on the possibilities of sustainable development (Gámez 2008)
Summary
In Cabo Pulmo, Mexico, local community members believe in sustainability, despite the conflicted, often contradictory histories and meanings of this well-worn yet still salient concept. In this article, drawing from political ecology, theories of ideology, and anthropological fieldwork, I argue that sustainability functions as a unifying ideology for the residents of Cabo Pulmo, providing a conceptual map for social action, meaning, and solidarity in the face of impending mass development (see Eagleton 1991; Geertz 1973). It serves this purpose even while—and perhaps because—other, powerful agents continue to marshal the idea of sustainable development toward completely different ends. Sustainability is more of a hopeful belief than a material reality
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