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
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/3199 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Parra-Rosales, L.P. |
| Contributors | Pearce, Jenny V. |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, Department of Peace Studies |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
Page generated in 0.0023 seconds