Communities In Southern Mexico Research Articles

Medicinal Plants Use in a Mountain Community in Southern Mexico

ABSTRACT The use of medicinal plants among local experts and the general population of San Sebastián Coatlán, Oaxaca, Mexico was documented. A total of 117 medicinal species were recorded, 61% of which are native to Mexico, being used to treat 16 types of illnesses. In total, 44.4% of medicinal species can be obtained from home gardens. Local experts and general population contribute similarly to the total knowledge of medicinal plants. In total, 45% of the medicinal plants are herbaceous, and 65% are cultivated. Community traditional knowledge about medicinal plants is distributed and conserved among all members of the locality.

First report of Kurthia gibsonii in the digestive system of Apis mellifera in an indigenous community in the south of Mexico

The insect digestive system is an outstanding niche for recognizing and understanding features and interactions with unique microbiota. Apis melliferaplay an important role in honey production and pollination, but their populations have decreased over time, so their study and comprehension are vital. Specimens were collected to study the culturable microbiota of the digestive system in an indigenous community in southern Mexico. Digestive samples of bees from four apiaries were randomly analyzed and cultured, and Gram-positive bacilli were identified through conventional biochemical tests and with molecular markers. Kurthia gibsoniiwas identified in 7.5% (6/80) of the cases, and the sequences obtained were reported in GenBank. This is the first report of K. gibsoniiin the digestive system of bees in apiaries in southern Mexico.

Food security and knowledge politics in rural Oaxaca

This study uses an embodied political ecology framework to evaluate the structural, discursive, and visceral effects of government food assistance policy in an agrarian community in southern Mexico. During the administration of President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018), the government’s efforts to resolve the growing double-burden of under- and over-nutrition included the expansion of food assistance programs alongside cash transfers conditioned on health and nutritional education. A parastatal company sourced and distributed foodstuffs to community and school kitchens, where mothers prepared them into meals. This research explores how women participating in government food assistance in the agricultural community of Santa Inés del Monte, Oaxaca, evaluated the foods they received and conceptualized broader changes in their food system and community health. Qualitative research methods, including interviews, focus groups and a community survey of 87 households, were conducted in the community in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Through attention to visceral experience, this study demonstrates how sensations of taste, embodied knowledge, nutrition discourses, gendered development programs, and structural marginalization combined to produce an outcome in which mothers accepted and prepared foods in the community kitchens that did not meet their standards of food quality. However, this study also finds that participating mothers and other residents continue to conceive of direct food production—especially organic production of local heirloom crop and animal varieties—as the best way to access good nutrition. These findings suggest the need for attention to knowledge politics in the design and evaluation of culturally appropriate food security policy.

An Integrated Assessment of Social-ecological Resilience in Me´Phaa Indigenous Communities in Southern Mexico

An Integrated Assessment of Social-ecological Resilience in Me´Phaa Indigenous Communities in Southern Mexico

First exploratory study of bacterial pathogens and endosymbionts in head lice from a Mayan community in southern Mexico

Lice represent one of the most neglected group of vectors worldwide, particularly in Latin America. Records of bacterial agents related to head lice are non-existent in this region of the continent. Many of these communities often do not have adequate access to public services and/or health protection. The normalization of this condition prevents them from manifesting discomfort, such as bites and itching, which further aggravates the situation, as they can be vectors of important diseases. For this reason, the aim of this work was to identify the richness of bacterial pathogens (Acinetobacter, Bartonella, and Rickettsia) and endosymbionts (Wolbachia) in head lice of paediatric patients from the indigenous municipality of Hoctun, Yucatan, Mexico. DNA extraction was performed using the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit. For the detection of bacterial pathogens, fragments of the gltA, rpoB, and 16S rDNA genes were amplified. For the detection of Wolbachia, the wsp gene was amplified. Of the 28 lice analysed, the presence of two genera of bacterial pathogens was detected Acinetobacter (42.9%=12/28) and Bartonella (7.14%=2/28). We also detected the endosymbiont Wolbachia (71.42%=20/28). Our results showed that DNA from three bacteria species (Acinetobacter baumannii, Bartonella quintana, and Wolbachia pipientis) was present with frequencies ranging from 3.57% to 71.42%. This work represents the first exploratory study of the diversity of agents associated with head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) in Mexico and Latin America. Due to the findings generated in the present study, it is important to perform surveillance of head lice populations to identify the degree of spread of these pathogens and their impact on populations in the region.

Spatiotemporal co-occurrence of predators and prey in a neotropical mammal community in southern Mexico

AbstractPredator-prey interactions are one of the central themes in ecology due to their importance as a key mechanism in structuring biotic communities. In the predator-prey systems, the behaviours of persecution and avoidance impact on the ecosystem dynamics as much as the trophic interactions. We aimed to analyse the spatiotemporal co-occurrences between prey and predators in a community of medium- and large-sized mammals in southern Mexico. We predict prey will avoid sites where a predator previously passed. Contrarily, we expect a search behaviour by predators and a synchronization in activity patterns among them. We found prey does not occur either in time or space where predators have passed, suggesting an avoidance behaviour. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find significant search behaviours from predators to prey. Synchronization in the daily temporal overlap between predators was higher (Δ = 0.77–0.82) than with their prey (Δ = 0.43 – 0.81). The results suggest prey perceives the risk of predation and displays avoidance behaviour both spatially and temporally, which is consistent with the fear theory. This study provides a complementary approach to understanding the behaviour mechanism between predators and prey through camera-trapping or similar data of spatiotemporal co-occurrences.

Seed sovereignty as decommodification: a perspective from subsistence peasant communities in Southern Mexico

ABSTRACT How do subsistence communities conceptualize their seed sovereignty? What do peasants perceive to be the principal threats to their seed sovereignty and how do they respond to these threats?; and How do local seed sovereignty initiatives relate to the broader ideologies, goals, and strategies of the global seed sovereignty movement? Local conceptions of seeds as a commons are contributing to a multidimensional decommodification project of peasant agriculture and indigenous autonomy. I analyze one particular initiative targeting environmental deterioration and climate change, two of the most salient threats to these communities' seed sovereignty: efforts to halt widespread chemicalization of subsistence agriculture.

Back to the people: The role of community-based responses in shaping landscape trajectories in Oaxaca, Mexico

Land use change results from top-down drivers, such as policies, trade, and migration. Land use change may also result from community-based responses. In Mexico, rural communities govern most of the country's forests. This study aimed to assess how socio-economic and biophysical factors affected the landscape trajectories of rural communities in southern Mexico. It also aimed at evaluating the role of communities in landscape change. Land use change of 63 rural communities was analyzed for the years 1987 and 2017. Four land uses were distinguished: forest, shrubland, agriculture, and bare soil. Five groups of communities were identified according to their socio-economic and biophysical factors. Two groups located in areas with high slopes and elevated marginalization index values showed deforestation patterns. Two other groups, consisting of more than half of the municipalities assessed, showed reforestation trends. The final group did not reveal major changes in land use. Two municipalities with reforestation trends were selected for an in-depth analysis of how community-based responses impacted natural resource management and conservation. Through local assemblies, the population voted for regulations that increased the forest area and reduced the bare soil. There was no evidence that these regulations affected croplands. These results show how a combination of socio-economic and biophysical factors can affect landscape change, but it also shows the often overlooked role of communities as a relevant bottom-up driver of change.

The montane multifunctional landscape: How stakeholders in a biosphere reserve derive benefits and address trade-offs in ecosystem service supply

Ecosystem service (ES) assessments, which make an explicit link between nature and people’s well-being, can support the management of natural protected areas that face complex and persistent sustainability challenges. We present a case study of ES supply in a biosphere reserve community in southern Mexico. We aimed to identify stakeholder-relevant ES and to analyse trade-offs between them. After engaging local stakeholders, we conducted a biophysical assessment of ES supply and associations across four different land uses. Closed forests and riparian areas, which occurred in different parts of the landscape, supplied high levels of multiple ES. Furthermore, co-produced farming goods and services that supported local livelihoods and conservation-oriented ecosystem services coincided in these four habitats. Together, these habitats provided a diverse array of ES across the landscape, indicating that stakeholders benefited from a multifunctional landscape. At the same time significant trade-offs were found in the supply of forage cover against most other ES, especially tree-based goods and services. These trade-offs revealed conflicts between agricultural land and neighbouring open forests and riparian areas, as well as opposed service demands among beneficiary groups. To address these trade-offs, stakeholders agreed on enhancing forest benefits in order to support both local livelihoods and conservation goals.

Territorial resilience the third dimension of agroecological scaling: Approximations from three peasant experiences in the South of Mexico

ABSTRACTIn this paper we explore the depth dimension of agroecological scaling. Through interviews, focus groups and participant observation, we explore the link between agroecology and the recovery and maintenance of ecosystem functions through three case studies in peasant communities in southern Mexico. These communities have contrasting ecological, social and historical contexts, but all engage in autonomous initiatives for agroecology and nature protection. We found that agroecology deepens when rooted in a cultural matrix of peasant identity, spiritual values, and local institutions.

Diabetes, alcohol abuse, and inequality in southern Mexico

Despite the serious persistence of infectious diseases, low-income, indigenous people in southern Mexico are increasingly burdened by noncommunicable diseases, type 2 diabetes in particular. Most studies on diabetes and indigenous peoples focus on the dietary transition they are experiencing, with an emphasis on the biological role of processed foods and soft drinks on the onset of this disease. Little, however, is known about the synergistic interaction of alcohol abuse, diabetes, and inequality. This article adopts a syndemic approach to investigate how alcohol abuse among women and men in a rural, indigenous community in southern Mexico contributes to exacerbating health outcomes. Based on a one-year qualitative ethnographic study, this article advocates the use of a syndemic approach into the study of noncommunicable diseases because it offers critical insights into political economy, individual and social suffering, and the biosocial nature of health and illness.

Avançar para pesquisas e intervenções comprometidas com um impacto social mais forte

The content of this article is a reflection exercise on the following questions: How to conduct psychological intervention in contexts of struggle and resistance? How to understand psychological well-being in contexts in which the oneiric and cosmogonical worlds are vital? How to conduct intervention in contexts in which the community and working together- as it is in indigenous communities become priorities before the individual dimension takes place? Some proposals are related to transdisciplinarity and the recognition of the historical, social, political, religious and cultural context of the population who receives the intervention and participates in research. It is underlined that psychological intervention in indigenous communities should consider multiple histories of struggle and resistance since they demonstrate that mental and psychical health as well as social and natural order can configurate and be called differently. For example, indigenous communities in southern Mexico use the term lekil kuxlejal which from a hegemonic perspective would be defined as mental health. This manuscript emphasizes that mental health, as well as physical health, should be considered human rights to which everyone should have access to. On the other hand, reflection is done on the ethical aspects of this work and it is argued that it is important to return to participants the results of the research studies they take part of and generate joint actions that promote social transformation and both personal and social liberation processes. It is also defended that it is necessary to humanize disciplines of different knowledge areas and do scientific group work with and for the community. To do so, it is required to continue to make psychology more ours and generate both personal and community processes of re-evolution.

Linking Local Appreciation with Conservation of an Edible Fruit Species: The Case Study of Ilama (<i>Annona diversifolia</i> Saff.) in Tierra Caliente, Mexico

The ilama tree (Annona diversifolia Saff.) is an underutilized fruit species from Mesoamerica with a noteworthy variability in southern Mexico. The present study describes differences in knowledge and appreciation of the fruit among inhabitants from different communities in Southern Mexico, as well as differences among their ilama trees. The study took place in Tierra Caliente, a region located in the states of Guerrero and the State of Mexico. Interviews were administered in three different communities as an attempt to associate the natural morphologic variation of plants and locals’ knowledge and use of the tree in order to identify their implications for conservation. Data were analyzed by multivariate analysis, and the results suggest that the morphological variation of the plants and the commercial importance of ilama are well known by locals. Indigenous community inhabitants prefer and select only white pulp trees, whereas mestizo communities promote and conserve plants with white, red, purple, and blue pulp. Germplasm flow is dynamic in the region, and ilama fruit represents a different economic value for each community. Selling the fruit is the primary goal, but not specifically its conservation and promotion. Implications for in situ conservation of ilama in Mexico are discussed.

Promoting Socio-emotional Development in Adolescents with Migrant Parents of a Rural Community in Southern Mexico

Nowadays, migration in Mexico is one of the major social phenomena that has, as main purpose, to provide better living conditions for the families left in the place of origin and has important consequences for the economy, family, and health. In Yucatan, the study of migration is not a new issue but the research done mostly focuses on socio-cultural and socio-economical aspects, and most of the studies have been carried out on the people that leave their place of origin in search of new opportunities. Only recently has research focused on exploring the psychological aspects of families left behind. In this context, this research seeks to understand the phenomenon of migration in its various forms: domestic, international, and return, pendulum, etc. This research also seeks to understand psychological effects, particularly in the socio- emotional development of adolescents, children of migrants. The aim of this paper is to present some of the results of a study in a rural community of north-central Yucatan...

An Exploratory Study of Internal Migration and Substance Use Among an Indigenous Community in Southern Mexico.

The primary aim of this study was to explore the association between internal migration experience within Mexico and lifetime substance use among a sample of 442 indigenous persons from Yucatan, Mexico. Adjusting for potential confounding, correlates of lifetime substance use were assessed among participants with and without internal migration experience. Internal migration to a tourist destination was independently associated with higher odds (adjusted odds ratio: 2.1; 95% confidence interval: 1.3-3.4) of reporting lifetime substance use. Findings suggest that environmental contexts of internal migration may be of importance in shaping vulnerability to substance use.

Analysis of nutrition data by means of a matrix factorization method

We present a factorization framework to analyze the data of a regression learning task with two peculiarities. First, inputs can be split into two parts that represent semantically significant entities. Second, the performance of regressors is very low. The basic idea of the approach presented here is to try to learn the ordering relations of the target variable instead of its exact value. Each part of the input is mapped into a common Euclidean space in such a way that the distance in the common space is the representation of the interaction of both parts of the input. The factorization approach obtains reliable models from which it is possible to compute a ranking of the features according to their responsibility in the variation of the target variable. Additionally, the Euclidean representation of data provides a visualization where metric properties have a clear semantics. We illustrate the approach with a case study: the analysis of a dataset about the variations of Body Mass Index for Age of children after a Food Aid Program deployed in poor rural communities in Southern Mexico. In this case, the two parts of inputs are the vectorial representation of children and their diets. In addition to discovering latent information, the mapping of inputs allows us to visualize children and diets in a common metric space.

Social Perceptions of Rainforest and Climatic Change from Rural Communities in Southern Mexico

Understanding social perceptions of rural communities is essential to construct public policy and management alternatives, not only to maintain natural ecosystems but also to deal with a changing environment due to climatic change. Because climate variability in Mexico has important socio-economic and environmental impacts, it is necessary to build capacities for adaptation. We describe social perceptions of three main local stakeholders (that is, farmers, elders, and local authorities), regarding their relationships with rainforest and local adaptation to climate change in eleven rural communities in Marques de Comillas municipality, Chiapas, Southern Mexico. We based in a qualitative approach and used participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Even certain subtly variation among stakeholders, we recognized some underlying ideas behind perceptions. Rainforest is considered crucial to maintain human livelihoods and to mitigate climatic changes. They perceived changes in climate occurring in the region, such as raising temperature, unpredictable rainfall, and streams becoming dry. Local organization and government involved in managing rainforest or dealing with climatic changes are practically absent. This emphasizes the needs bring proper and reliable information to make decisions regarding rainforest use and management, but also to adapt to a changing climate. The loss of the collective character of the communities and, certain conflicts in public policies that mirrored in the coexistence of initiatives with contrasting objectives are proposed as particularly important for understanding the emergence of these perceptions. We proposed some recommendations to bolster regional capacities addressing climate change. Involving stakeholders such as governmental and non-governmental institutions is also imperative.

Maternal Education Mitigates the Negative Effects of Higher Income on the Double Burden of Child Stunting and Maternal Overweight in Rural Mexico

Globally, the rate at which maternal overweight and obesity increase with rising wealth is higher than the accompanying decline in the prevalence of child stunting, resulting in the double burden of malnutrition. The positive association between household wealth and child linear growth is larger in households with a more educated mother. However, whether a similar positive and synergistic association between maternal education and household wealth is observed for maternal body weight is unknown. Our objective was to assess the potential protective role of maternal education in the etiology of the double burden of malnutrition (stunted child with an overweight mother). We used data on 1547 nonpregnant mothers (aged 18–49 y) and their children (aged 0–5 y) collected in a cross-sectional survey in 235 rural communities in southern Mexico. Child height-for-age Z-score and maternal body weight were regressed on household wealth, women’s schooling, and the interaction between both, controlling for relevant covariates. A similar model was used for the prevalence of double-burden pairs (stunted child with an overweight mother). In mothers with less than primary school, a doubling in wealth was not associated with improved child’s height but was associated with an increase in mother’s weight (3.7%, P < 0.01). In mothers who had completed primary school, the reverse was found: a doubling in wealth score was associated with improved child height-for-age Z-score (0.32 SD, P < 0.01) but not with mother’s weight. As a result, a 100% increase in wealth among households with less schooled mothers was associated with a 4.5 percentage point increase (P < 0.05) in double-burden pairs; in households with mothers with primary schooling or more, it was not associated with the occurrence of double-burden pairs. Maternal schooling effectively mitigated the negative effects of household wealth on the prevalence of double-burden households in rural Mexico. Where maternal schooling is low, poverty reduction must be accompanied by effective behavior change communication to prevent child stunting and to protect women from unhealthy weight gain.

Women’s Political Engagement in a Mexican Sending Community

Early research suggested that migration changed gender roles by offering women new wages and exposing them to norms of gender equity. Increasingly, however, scholars have drawn attention to the role of structural factors, such as poverty and undocumented status, in mediating the relationship between migration and gender. This article takes such insights a step further by showing that migrant communities’ reactions to structural marginality—and their efforts to build alternatives in their home villages—may also draw women into new gender roles. I demonstrate this mechanism through the case of San Miguel, a Mixtec sending community in Southern Mexico where, in the context of U.S. migration, once-excluded women came to predominate in civic affairs. In response to harsh conditions in the United States, migrants from San Miguel returned to their village. To make this economically feasible, they sought state development resources. Men, who often stayed in the United States as breadwinners, relied on sympathetic women back in the sending community to advocate on their behalf. Meanwhile, women’s own rejection of migrant life gave them new interest in sustaining their village. For both, incorporating women into politics offered a strategy to secure needed resources and avoid assimilating into an undocumented underclass.

Cash and in-Kind Transfers Lead to Excess Weight Gain in a Population of Women with a High Prevalence of Overweight in Rural Mexico

There is a growing concern that food or cash transfer programs may contribute to overweight and obesity in adults. We studied the impact of Mexico’s Programa de Apoyo Alimentario (PAL), which provided very poor rural households with cash or in-kind transfers, on women’s body weight. A random sample of 208 rural communities in southern Mexico was randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: food basket with or without health and nutrition education, cash with education, or control. The impact on women’s weight was estimated in a cohort of 3010 women using a difference-in-difference model. We compared the impact between the food basket and cash groups and evaluated whether the impact was modified by women’s BMI status at baseline. With respect to the control group, the program increased women’s weight in the food basket (550 ± 210 g; P = 0.004) and the cash group (420 ± 230 g; P = 0.032); this was equivalent to 70 and 53% increases in weight gain, respectively, over that observed in the control group in a 23-mo time period. The greatest impact was found in already obese women: 980 ± 290 g in the food basket group (P = 0.001) and 670 ± 320 g in the cash group (P = 0.019). Impact was marginally significant in women with a preprogram BMI between 25 and 30 kg/m2: 490 ± 310 g (P = 0.055) and 540 ± 360 g (P = 0.067), respectively. No program impact was found in women with a BMI <25 kg/m2. Providing households with a considerable amount of unrestricted resources led to excess weight gain in an already overweight population. Research is needed to develop cost-effective behavior change communication strategies to complement cash and in-kind transfer programs such as PAL and to help beneficiaries choose healthy diets that improve the nutritional status of all family members.