Elusive Unity: Factionalism and the Limits of Identity Politics in Yucatán, Mexico

220 Pages·2013·1.09 MB·English

by  Fernando Armstrong-Fumero

Elusive Unity

ElUsivE
Unity
Factionalism and the limits of
identity Politics in yucatán, Mexico
Fernando Armstrong-Fumero
UnivErsity PrEss oF Colorado
Boulder
© 2013 by University Press of Colorado
Published by University Press of Colorado
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Printed in the United States of America
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State University, Colorado State University, Fort Lewis College, Metropolitan State University of
Denver, Regis University, University of Colorado, University of Northern Colorado, Utah State
University, and Western State Colorado University.
This paper meets the requirements of the ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Armstrong-Fumero, Fernando.
Elusive unity : factionalism and the limits of identity politics in Yucatán, Mexico / Fernando
Armstrong-Fumero.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60732-238-2 (hardback) — ISBN 978-1-60732-239-9 (ebook)
1. Mayas—Mexico—Yucatán (State)—Ethnic identity. 2. Mayas—Mexico—Yucatán (State)—Politics
and government. I. Title.
F1435.3.E72A76 2013
305.897'427—dc23
2013009235
22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To the agriculturalists, artisans,
and parents of Oriente,

in their respective and overlapping luchas.

Contents
List of Figures   ix
Acknowledgments   xi
1. Peasants and Maya, Solidarity and Factionalism   1
2. “How It Happened That We Fomented This Town”:
Tensions between Family Autonomy and Community
Solidarity during the Agrarian Reform   23
3. “Back Then, There Was No Order”: The Early
Twentieth Century in Collective Memory   51
4. “Now There Is More Culture”: Rural Schools as
Monuments to Revolutionary Culture   77
5. “When I First Went to Study”: Pedagogy, National
History, and Bilingualism   95
6. “That Time of Change”: The Limits of Agriculture and
the Rise of the Tourist Industry   113
7. “What Does ‘Culture’ Mean?”: Progressivism,
Patrimonialism, and Corporatism in Vernacular Discourse
on Maya Culture   137
8. The Realpolitik of Yucatecan Multiculturalism   161
References   183
Index   197
vii

Figures
1.1. Reynaldo Mis Dzib at Chichén Itzá    3
1.2. Map of the towns and villages of Oriente   15
3.1. Making posole   55
3.2. Public monument on the
Paseo Montejo of Mérida   56
5.1. Doing tich’   109
6.1. The road to Popolá   121
6.2. The electrical cables leading to Nicté Há   124
6.3. Main street and municipal hall of Pisté   131
7.1. The OXXO chain convenience store in Pisté   151
ix