THE NATIVE PEOPLE FROM MILPA ALTA (MEXICO CITY) AND THE DEFENSE OF THEIR TERRITORY

Abstract

The native people of Milpa Alta are part of the rural area of Mexico City. These native people are part from an agrarian nucleus of the same name, which has an area of 17,000 hectares, most of which is forest. The objectives of this article are a) identify what have been the main events in the struggle of these native peoples to avoid the dispossession of their territory and b) analyze how is the construction of the territory and its different dimensions from the management of the communal forest. This research combined the political ecology approach and a qualitative methodology. The outcomes suggest that in Milpa Alta, since before the Mexican Revolution, there was a struggle for land. Although, it was five decades ago, when these native peoples formed as a social movement, which has defended its territory and has linked with other peasant, indigenous and rural organizations at the national level. However, starting 12 years ago, the original peoples of Milpa Alta took an ecoterritorial turn when they began a fight to prevent the construction of a road and the drilling of a water well. The result also indicate that construction of territory is through the management of the communal forest.