Ontological politics in competing tourismscapes: The rise of a public on the Nayarit Riviera,Mexico

Abstract

This article examines a conflict over land on Las Islitas beach in San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico, between the owners of small beachfront eateries or enramadas and an Indigenous communal agrarian organization. We interpret this conflict as being not only a struggle over land but also as a struggle between the enactment of different tourismscapes and the corresponding ontological premises upon which these are based. To build our argument, we explore the historical production of tourismscapes in San Blas and the crucial part that a colonial parchment and littoral drift play in this. As we show, the conflict has created a public, that is, a confederation of dissimilar actors who are united by a shared experience of harm and who take important decisions and engage in politics. We conclude with some ideas as concerns the need to account for the ontological politics that emerge from tourism-related conflicts.