The tropes of the diablo, the macho, the indio and the bronco have served as a means by which the state of Guerrero, Mexico, has been discursively defined, both externally and internally. I employ a critical reading of these tropes in an analysis of several commemorative performances that characterize the historical imaginary of northern Guerrero. The heart of the study is a description and analysis of the Diablos of Telolopan, a tradition which is celebrated as part of the Fiestas Patrias, and commemorates local participation in Mexico’s War for Independence, 1810-1821. I compare this tradition with other regional commemorations, including alternative fiestas patrias, the Abrazo of Acatempan, and the Festival of Cuauhtémoc, arguing that commemorative performance forms part of a poetics of history which resists the imposition of national hegemonic historiography. I complement the study of local history-making with an analysis of the way in which space and memory come together in the practices that surround death in Teloloapan. / text

The adoption of the neo-liberal model in the mid-1980s has forced the governing elites to reconfigure the Mexican State. However, the consolidation of a neoliberal State continues to be incomplete and it has been problematic to fully integrated the Mexican economy in the global market due to the increasing organized crime, the dismantling of previous post-revolutionary control mechanisms, and the growing mobilisation of organised indigenous opposition ranging from the peaceful obstruction of hydroelectric mega-projects in their territories to armed struggle. In view of the State crisis, this thesis argues that there has been a shift in the system of control mechanisms of the State that is leaning towards a more recurrent use of open violence to implement its neo-liberal State project. From a theoretical perspective, the research proposes an innovative approach to understanding the formation of the post-revolutionary State, which transcends the State violence dichotomy established between the ´corporatist´ and the ´critical´ approaches in the contemporary literature. The research highlights the wide spectrum of control mechanisms from hegemonic domination to violence used by the governing elites to compensate the unfinished State formation process in order to maintain socio-political stability without profound structural changes. It explores the enhanced tendency of State violence to replace incorporation in Statesociety relations since the efforts to restructure the economy from the 1980s onwards. The thesis analyses how this tendency has grown particularly in response to indigenous movements in the South of Mexico. The argument is substantiated empirically with two case studies undertaken in the sub-region of Costa Chica-Montaña of Guerrero with data from 79 semi-structured interviews with a wide range of social and political actors, and participant observation in ten indigenous communities. The case studies explore the different State control mechanisms used to advance the State formation model in the post revolutionary period; the impact of the crisis of those mechanisms in the sub-region; the violent resistance of local bosses to the loss of power, and the multiples indigenous responses to the implementation of neoliberal policies in their territories. This research also includes a comparative study to explain some factors that strengthen indigenous articulations, as well as their limits in an era of neoliberal globalisation. One of the most important research findings is that neoliberalism has further weakened the 'civilianisation' power of the State to deal peacefully with civil society sectors, particularly with indigenous peoples, while it has strengthened its 'centralised-coercive' power to carry out the imposed State model. Another finding is that the indigenous initiatives that have reinvented themselves through a new version of their practices and broader alliances have consolidated their alternative models. In contrast, the indigenous responses that have reproduced their traditions have failed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--George Mason University, 2008. / Vita: p. 116. Thesis director: Wallace Warfield. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Aug. 28, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-115). Also issued in print.

The adoption of the neo-liberal model in the mid-1980s has forced the governing elites to reconfigure the Mexican State. However, the consolidation of a neoliberal State continues to be incomplete and it has been problematic to fully integrated the Mexican economy in the global market due to the increasing organized crime, the dismantling of previous post-revolutionary control mechanisms, and the growing mobilisation of organised indigenous opposition ranging from the peaceful obstruction of hydroelectric mega-projects in their territories to armed struggle. In view of the State crisis, this thesis argues that there has been a shift in the system of control mechanisms of the State that is leaning towards a more recurrent use of open violence to implement its neo-liberal State project. From a theoretical perspective, the research proposes an innovative approach to understanding the formation of the post-revolutionary State, which transcends the State violence dichotomy established between the ´corporatist´ and the ´critical´ approaches in the contemporary literature. The research highlights the wide spectrum of control mechanisms from hegemonic domination to violence used by the governing elites to compensate the unfinished State formation process in order to maintain socio-political stability without profound structural changes. It explores the enhanced tendency of State violence to replace incorporation in Statesociety relations since the efforts to restructure the economy from the 1980s onwards. The thesis analyses how this tendency has grown particularly in response to indigenous movements in the South of Mexico. The argument is substantiated empirically with two case studies undertaken in the sub-region of Costa Chica-Montaña of Guerrero with data from 79 semi-structured interviews with a wide range of social and political actors, and participant observation in ten indigenous communities. The case studies explore the different State control mechanisms used to advance the State formation model in the post revolutionary period; the impact of the crisis of those mechanisms in the sub-region; the violent resistance of local bosses to the loss of power, and the multiples indigenous responses to the implementation of neoliberal policies in their territories. This research also includes a comparative study to explain some factors that strengthen indigenous articulations, as well as their limits in an era of neoliberal globalisation. One of the most important research findings is that neoliberalism has further weakened the ¿civilianisation¿ power of the State to deal peacefully with civil society sectors, particularly with indigenous peoples, while it has strengthened its ¿centralised-coercive¿ power to carry out the imposed State model. Another finding is that the indigenous initiatives that have reinvented themselves through a new version of their practices and broader alliances have consolidated their alternative models. In contrast, the indigenous responses that have reproduced their traditions have failed. / Marie Curie-Humcricon Fellowship

<p>The Middle Jurassic Tecocoyunca Group of northeastern Guerrero, Mexico is situated on the allochthonous Mixteca tectostratiqraphic terrane. This group represents an overall transgressive trend with a few minor fluctuations of base level. Foreshore, shoreface, barrier island, washover, and laqoonal facies are identified within five coarsening-upward sequence. Abundant hummocky cross stratification, low-angle inclined stratification, and swash cross stratification indicate dominance of wave processes. These nearshore sequences are overlain by offshore marine shales, which are thought to represent a major global eustatic sea-level rise in the latest Bathonian, continuing into the Early Callovian. During the transgression, deep portions of the basin developed anoxic bottom conditions, resulting in the deposition of bituminous black shales. The combined effects of basinal subsidence and eustatic sea-level rise resulted in a rapid rate of transgression which exceeded that of sedimentation; ca. 110 cm/Ka. </p> <p> Five ammonite associations date the Tecocoyunca Group as Upper Bathonian (Retrocostatum Zone) to Lower Callovian (Calloviense Zone). Biogeoqraphic affinity of the ammonite fauna is mostly Andean with signicant west-Tethyan/mediterranean elements and a few endemic species. The ammonite faunas show: 1) a rapid faunal replacement, 2) shell morphology trends, and 3 ) varying degrees of endemism/cosmopolitanism, all in relation to sea level variation. </p> <p>Biostratiqraphy and lithostratigraphy of the Tecocoyunca Group suggest that: 1) the Mixteca terrane had a paleoposition, during the Middle Jurassic, near the Pacific opening of the Hispanic Corridor (proto-AtlanticJ, 2) the Hispanic corridor provided marine connections between the eastern Pacific Ocean and the western Tethys Sea, and 3) preponderance near shore sediments suggests close proximity to the Andes of South America. </p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)