Building a Future for Rural Mexico

Abstract

The stereotypes of a backward and stagnant peasantry are challenged by the reality of people constructing their own alternatives of social theory and action. In the face of globalization processes that offer few options for large segments of the population, there are numerous social groups actively working to strengthen their rural communities, to rehabilitate and protect their ecosystems, and to contribute to forging a new type of social pact in which they can enjoy rising living standards while also contributing to an improving quality of life for society as a whole. This alternative vision of rural communities is based on a reexamination of information about these areas, reconsideration of the ways in which the communities govern themselves, react to pressures, and make decisions.