Self-management process for soil and water conservation in sustainable peasant systems. The cases of Vicente Guerrero and La Reforma, Tlaxcala

Abstract

The conventional globalized development model requires developing countries to apply policies that favor the most developed sectors. In the rural sector, policies that are unfavorable to peasant families continue to be applied, causing them to develop new survival strategies to resist the economic and social changes that threaten their production and reproduction. In Mexico, there are peasant groups that have survived such policies due to the application of alternative strategies developed by themselves, a product of their self-management capacity to face adverse situations. Based on the above, the objective of this work was to analyze the factors that explain the self-management process of the Vicente Guerrero peasant community, in comparison to another peasant community, La Reforma, in the state of Tlaxcala. For the analysis, the agroecological approach was used, which is based on the rationality between nature and social groups. The information was generated with quantitative and qualitative techniques. Vicente Guerrero, compared to what happens in La Reforma, shows greater application of agroecological practices, greater participation and social organization and more ecological awareness, a phenomenon that is reflected in the better management and conservation of its soil and water resources. This is explained by the interaction that has existed between farmers and government agencies, but with greater weight with Non-Governmental Organizations, which have interrelated with methodologies different from the traditional ones, such as the farmer-to-farmer methodology.