Gender, social participation, environmental perception and remediation in the face of natural disasters in an indigenous community, Cuetzalan, Puebla

Abstract

This paper analyzes the importance of the gender equity perspective in the remediation of natural disasters. The study investigated the differential perceptions and reactions by gender to natural disasters and the effects of environmental changes on the territory of members of local social organizations in the municipality of Cuetzalan, Puebla. In particular, the study investigated the Nahuatl women organized in the Masehualsiuamej Mosenyolchiauanij, who developed actions to remediate the effects of the natural disaster that occurred in 1999. The study examined the perception of the residents about their productive practices, about the natural disaster, and about the participation strategies followed by local social organizations in the face of external projects. The methodology used included in-depth interviews, participant observation, and documentary review. Recent local actions were also identified that denote the generation of a model of local participation of social co-management, where members of organized civil society, municipal authorities, and indigenous social organizations seek to implement an ecological ordering of their territory.