Following the 1917 Mexican Revolution inhabitants of the states of Chihuahua and Michoacán received vast tracts of prime timberland as part of Mexico's land redistribution program. Although locals gained possession of the forests, the federal government retained management rights, which created conflict over subsequent decades among rural, often indigenous villages; government; and private timber companies about how best to manage the forests. Christopher R. Boyer examines this history in Political Landscapes, where he argues that the forests in Chihuahua and Michoacán became what he calls "political landscapes"--that is, geographies that become politicized by the interactions between opposing actors--through the effects of backroom deals, nepotism, and political negotiations. Understanding the historical dynamic of community forestry in Mexico is particularly critical for those interested in promoting community involvement in the use and conservation of forestlands around the world. Considering how rural and indigenous people have confronted, accepted, and modified the rationalizing projects of forest management foisted on them by a developmentalist state is crucial before community management is implemented elsewhere.
Christopher R. Boyer is Professor of History and Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He is the editor of A Land between Waters: Environmental Histories of Modern Mexico.
Table of Contents
Illustrations xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii Introduction 1 Part I. The Making of Revolutionary Forestry 1. The Commodification of Nature, 1880–1910 25 2. Revolution and Regulation, 1910–1928 60 3. Revolutionary Forestry, 1928–1942 93 Part II. The Development Imperative 4. Industrial Forests, 1942–1958 129 5. The Ecology of Development, 1952–1972 167 6. The Romance of State Forestry, 1972–1992 203 Conclusion. Slivers of Hope in the Neoliberal Forest 239 Appendix 1. Federal Forestry Codes, 1926–2008 259 Appendix 2. UIEFs, 1945–1986 261 Notes 263 Bibliography 309 Index 327
What People are Saying About This
Wandering Peoples - Cynthia Radding
"Political Landscapes is an excellently researched and meticulously documented environmental and political history of modern Mexico. Christopher R. Boyer's focus on the forests shows us a new way of writing Mexico's history from the Revolution forward. A masterful narrative, this will become a very important and influential book."
