Indigenous Autonomy in Mexico:
Towards a Renewal of Revolutionary Ideals

Towards a Renewal of Revolutionary Ideals

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From July to August Cherán gathers volunteers to hike into the forest, where snipers have murdered community members, in order to plant new pine saplings in the decimated, deforested areas. Teenagers, elders and small children make the trek into the forest protected by heavily armed guards on horseback, to reforest the areas that were cut down. Comunero (community member and movement supporter) Miguel Geronimo says, "What we're doing here will be well worth it someday soon. Our children and grand children will once again have shade to play in and trees to stare up at and dream into."
Cheran's leaders have stated that they wish to invest in the youth of the town by offering them regular bilingual classes in both the Purépecha and Spanish languages as every day the number of community members who speak the language fluently are dwindling. Purépecha, for the new movement has become more prestigious and rightly seen as an important part of the region's culture. So far, it has been easier said than done, as fluent Purépecha speakers with formal education and the ability to efficiently teach a non-necessary second language, are few and far between. Today, the youth are not learning much more than phrases and words. But, the will is there and Cherán is determined to continue making it a priority.
Autonomous indigenous town Cherán K'eri declared its autonomy in order to enact environmental and social justice. Cherán began its fight in order to save its vast pine tree forests from being further decimated after years of government silence and organized crime illegally logging their territory. Here, under the new government, members of the community patrolling the forests check the papers of a logger to ensure that he is not exceeding the amount of lumber he is contractually allowed to take out of the forest.
This is an example of a previous project, portraits of the parents of the 43 students from Ayotzinapa; Oliveria Parral Rosa is looking for her two boys Jorge Luis González Parral and Dorian González Parral. Photo taken in her home in Xalpatláhuac, Guerrero July 2015, "My two babies have disappeared. Gone, where are they? My two sons left here for school with noble intentions. 'We’re going to study there mom, in this economy there’s not much more we can do.' I’ve now regretted thousands of times for having sent my sons there to that school. This goddamned awful bad government is saying that they were delinquents. My sons were not delinquents." These parents have now joined forces with indigenous autonomous groups demanding social justice and the end to impunity in the Mexican political, social and economic systems.
Autonomous town of Cherán K'eri: Members of the town hike into the forest, where snipers still prowl, in order to reforest the area devastated by illegal logging before the town declared its autonomy from the Mexican political system. These volunteers are of all ages, genders and sexes and spend their weekends planting trees under the protection of heavily armed guards on horse and muleback.
In the town Cherán K'eri of the meseta Purépecha in the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico the culturally indigenous population has established an autonomous government which celebrates the town's cultural and traditional identity. Here depicted is a traditional wedding celebrated and planned by a young couple. Before the movement these types of weddings were increasingly less common. Since the movement the traditional weddings have seen a resurgence.
A young reveler enjoys a traditional Purépecha wedding in Cherán. Since Cherán declared its autonomy there has been a surge in traditional type events, embraced by all age groups.
Seventeen year old Paula Lopez from Mexico City takes part in the annual hot air baloon competition in the autonomous town of Cherán K'eri with her winning entry of a 70 foot tall hot air baloon. This event is part of the autonomous governments attempt to resurrect regional cultural traditions.
Wedding preparation in autonomous town of Cherán K'eri Michoacán Mexico.
Members of autonomous town Santa Maria de Ostula march with their patron saint in June of 2015. Despite years of violence, kidnappings and murder the resistant autonomous movement continues.
Rural farmers regularly take turns patrolling the perimeter of Santa Maria de Ostula's community borders. Although deeded to the indigenous groups under the "ejido" system, the attempt to take over their resource rich lands has never entirely ended since the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century (to this area along the Pacific Coast). Currently transnational mining and tourism companies are looking to develop the area, organized crime has established a presence for illicit shipments from Colombia, and other local poor farmers regularly encroach upon their lands. Most are armed with basic hunting rifles.
Rural farmers in Santa Maria de Ostula and their youth take a look out upon the territory they are defending with hunting rifles against transnational companies, drug cartels and colluded government forces.
Here is an example of older work of mine, but a related theme. This image was taken in the coca growing region of Bolivia, where indigenous Aymara groups have been growing the coca leaf for thousands of years. Prior to the election of 2005 that brought their representative Evo Morales to the presidential seat I went to the region interested in this group of indigenous, impoverished, and marginalized group on the brink of voting in their representative.
Cherán K'eri has set up a local patrol force to patrol their forests and ensure that illegal logging has come to a halt. The forces confiscated their arms from the police who were a part of the apathetic and colluded government.
In the town of Cherán K'eri the autonomous government has invested in programs for the youth that strengthen community pride, democratic government and local indigenous traditions. Here we see an event organized by the new government that taps into the region's long tradition of building hot air baloons with light paper, a candle and traditional horse glue. This tradition only takes place in the rainy season to mitigate forest fires if and when the hot air baloons fall in flames. Here local Purépecha children ready their baloon for the childrens contest.
Cherán K'eri's leader from the group of 12 representatives says he still dreams about growing up in the town's vast forests and how he is proud to be a member of the new government protecting both the forests and the town's traditional culture from extinction.
Santa Maria de Ostula on the Pacific Coast of Michoacán has declared its autonomy from the Mexican political system in order to enact social and environmental justice and protect and maintain their cutural traditions. Fishing is one of the many means of the community being self sufficient.
Another example of my older work from Bolivia in 2005. A young child is the only sober individual during a traditional party in the mountains of Bolivia where the coca leaf has been grown for thousands of years before the current drug problems arrived with the demand for cocaine in the last century. Members of these regions were influential in the election of Evo Morales.
Cherán K'eri: a largely agricultural town, since the autonomous movement has unfolded many of the town's federal and state subsidies are missed as the political parties often provide poor farmers with subsidies. The town's autonomy survives despite many serious hurdles.
In Santa Maria de Ostula every September 10 and December 13 for centuries the indigenous community has been carrying out a unique form of street theater that was brought from Spain to the region in the 16th century. When it arrived the European battle between the Moors and Christians was mixed with indigenous cultural elements to form a syncretist tradition that exists intact today. Here we can see what are called “Xayacates” which are ghost like figures that alongside the Moors and Christians haunt the street theater and represent an element of chaos and uncertainty- a physical manifestation of the rupture of all and any social norms during war. These traditions that are carried out only in Ostula are an example of the cultural traditions that these current social movements in Mexico are trying desperately to protect and preserve.
Joakim is an elder of Ostula from the town of La Cobanera. Joakim grew up speaking Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, and the waning indigenous language of the region. As a child Nahuatl was officially discouraged in favor of Spanish. Today, local officials from the resistance- autonomous movement have asked Joakim how he can help in the schools to resurrect the use of the language and how he can help in the construction of a bilingual program. Unfortunately these elders are not literate in Nahuatl, nor are they trained as educators. Many of the bilingual programs that attempt to reclaim the linguistic heritage fall short due to these common failures.
Marco Antonio is a young man starting his family in Ostula. He is an active member in the political and social life of the community and hopes to see his family continue to live in the current peace that the town is enjoying since the movement has kicked out organized crime and established their own local grassroots government and security forces.
The indigenous region of Ostula is largely independent because of its subsistence farming and hunting traditions that have remained largely unchanged for millenium. Here, where the Ostula river empties into the Pacific Ocean at the town of La Ticla, community members fish tiny fish locally called Gardumo which make an appearance in the river only about five times per year. This river is the life line of the community and many are petrified that if mining companies and hotels and big business get their way and topple the autonomous movement and move into the zone the lively river will be quickly killed by contaminants as has been the case with other rivers of similar size in Mexico. This river mouth also has helped form a great surfing pointbreak frequented by the occasional international tourist and surfers from relatively nearby Guadalajara.
Onlookers observe the preparation of the ancient local indigenous street festival theatre of “Xayacates” in Santa Maria de Ostula.
A young man who wished to remain anonymous mans the checkpoint at Xayakalan which is the northern most border of Ostula. Local community members 17 and above have to do their service protecting the town’s border from organized criminal elements from entering the zone.
These town’s deal with local security issues. Here is a local man locked up in a makeshift prison for an offense.
Here in Palma Sola local community members welcome the Virgin of Guadalupe of Ostula to their town with a syncretist religious procession that mixes both indigneous and European Catholic elements. These traditions are part of the culture and the history that they are protecting with their social movement.
Security forces at the Northern most barricade on the coastal highway. These security forces secure the town’s entrances and exits and filter who can enter. Most of their guns were taken from the organized crime that was kicked out of the area as the movement began.

Scott Brennan

I am originally from NY and I’ve been shooting professionally since 2003. Most of my work is based in Latin America and I’ve been li…

Topics
Environment Pollution Social Justice Traditional Culture
Sub Topics
Conflict Environmental Degradation Pollution Violence
Regions
Mexico
Autonomy

About Indigenous Autonomy in Mexico: Towards a Renewal of Revolutionary Ideals

The photographic project will focus on the coastal town/municipality of Santa Maria de Ostula on the violent and largely undeveloped coast of Michoacan in southern Mexico. My project will document Santa Maria de Ostula, and its newly established political autonomy. Ostula is one example of social movements of ethnically and culturally indigenous peoples throughout México that have begun to establish autonomous, grassroots governments in response to rampant violence, corruption, environmental degradation and inadequate official governments. These towns currently form an expanding patchwork across the map of Mexico. Their claims to the right to self-determination and autonomy are based on a little known clause of the Mexican Constitution added at the behest of revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. This clause, Article 2, allows indigenous towns to rule themselves outside of the Mexican political system. In a response to violence resulting from organized crime, international mining, tourism companies and corruption of both state and federal institutions, Ostula declared its autonomy and began defending its borders in order to secure peace, enact environmental and social justice and preserve important elements of their cultural heritage. Although the federal and state governments and official political parties have at times reluctantly recognized the legal existence of some of the autonomous regions there is an ongoing pressure, very often manifested through violence, for the communities to return to the fold of the institutionalized Mexican political system. Likewise there is an animosity and self-righteousness on behalf of the people as they struggle to protect their social movements against more powerful forces. This project, when completed, will be part of a larger project I’ve been working on since 2011 tracing the indigenous, social and environmental movements that have declared their autonomy from the official governments in a country increasingly plagued by violence, corruption and terror. These social and political actions offer a glimpse into a recent trend in the Mexican grassroots movements initiated by the country’s most dispossessed and marginalized population. These movements demonstrate that populations, with even the most limited resources, can find and concoct their own solutions to some of humanity’s most pressing problems: organized crime, lack of education, disappearing cultural heritage, environmental degradation and corrupt governments.