Culture and development planning in indigenous communities of the Sierra Sur, Oaxaca

Abstract

Indigenous communities are characterized by particular ways of exercising and organizing internal life. The union of these forms builds a sociocultural identity, as well as a life expectancy and development objectives. The objective was to analyze how municipal development planning fits into the sociocultural context of the indigenous communities of the Southern Sierra under the theoretical dimensions of ethnodevelopment and good living. The latter are alternative models that arise as a critique of the hegemonic conception of Western development and demonstrate the construction of multiple ways of living in harmony with nature, community and individual itself. The study was conducted in the municipalities of San Francisco Logueche, San José Lachiguirí, San Cristobal Amatlán, San Miguel Suchixtepec and San Andrés Paxtlán, located in the Sierra Sur region. The methodology corresponded to a multi-type case study with a qualitative approach. The techniques of gathering information were the analysis of content and the semi-structured interview. The results show that indigenous communities face a rigid system of planning that is subject to development guidelines, national and international guidelines and agreements. They define technical solutions that try to respond to the problems of the population, from a reduced approach to human and sustainable development; a situation that violates the customs and good lives that are always local and specific to each context.