The Geopolitics of Natural Resources in the Sierra of Santa Marta (Veracruz, Mexico): Alternative Practices for Sustainability and Indigenous Resistance against the Developmentalist Model

Abstract

From a decolonial perspective, this article examines the geopolitical framework that affects currently the management of natural resources in the peasant indigenous communities of nahuas and popolucas in the Sierra of Santa Marta (Veracruz, Mexico). The context is characterized by the emergence of different experiences defined by the integral, sustainable and intercultural management of natural resources. The article is based on a qualitative methodology of research and an epistemology that distances itself from developmental models ―hegemonic in the aftermath of the Second World War―, and thus linked to noncapitalist economic forms. These incipient projects take the shape of alternative socio-political practices in the struggles and resistances of the communities that fight for the improvement of the integral sustainability (ecological, economic and social) of the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. This stands in stark contrast to decades of resounding failures resultant from developmentalist-like programs, defined by their assistancerelated and paternalistic focus.