The Government of the Indians: An Anthropology of State Formation in Oaxaca, Mexico

This article analyzes the process of state formation in Mexico, focusing on the case of the state of Oaxaca, where the role of indigenous forms of governance are examined in the relation to the construction of state power. Drawing on ethnographic material it examines how the concept of government of...

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Main Author: Yerko Castro Neira
Format: Article
Language:Spanish
Published: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede Ecuador 2015-05-01
Series:Íconos
Subjects:
Online Access:http://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/iconos/article/view/1672/1300
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author Yerko Castro Neira
author_facet Yerko Castro Neira
author_sort Yerko Castro Neira
collection DOAJ
description This article analyzes the process of state formation in Mexico, focusing on the case of the state of Oaxaca, where the role of indigenous forms of governance are examined in the relation to the construction of state power. Drawing on ethnographic material it examines how the concept of government of the indians circulates in a variety of contexts in which different actors –legal experts, academics, leaders and indigenous intellectuals– construct this concept through everyday social practices which in turn undergirds the way in which the state constantly produces and reproduces itself. These diverse local practices demonstrate that the strength of the state in Mexico is in its fragmented and decentered nature even if its existence is predicated on formal institutions and the law.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1390-1249
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language Spanish
publishDate 2015-05-01
publisher Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede Ecuador
record_format Article
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spelling doaj-art-1038c694ce2d4b8693eb38922d65e5992025-02-02T12:51:07ZspaFacultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede EcuadorÍconos1390-12491390-12492015-05-0119525977The Government of the Indians: An Anthropology of State Formation in Oaxaca, MexicoYerko Castro Neira0Doctor en Antropología. Profesor e Investigador Titular, Departamento de Ciencias Sociales y Políticas, Universidad Iberoamericana de México.This article analyzes the process of state formation in Mexico, focusing on the case of the state of Oaxaca, where the role of indigenous forms of governance are examined in the relation to the construction of state power. Drawing on ethnographic material it examines how the concept of government of the indians circulates in a variety of contexts in which different actors –legal experts, academics, leaders and indigenous intellectuals– construct this concept through everyday social practices which in turn undergirds the way in which the state constantly produces and reproduces itself. These diverse local practices demonstrate that the strength of the state in Mexico is in its fragmented and decentered nature even if its existence is predicated on formal institutions and the law.http://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/iconos/article/view/1672/1300legal fictionstate formationindigenous form of govermentrepresentationviolence
spellingShingle Yerko Castro Neira
The Government of the Indians: An Anthropology of State Formation in Oaxaca, Mexico
Íconos
legal fiction
state formation
indigenous form of goverment
representation
violence
title The Government of the Indians: An Anthropology of State Formation in Oaxaca, Mexico
title_full The Government of the Indians: An Anthropology of State Formation in Oaxaca, Mexico
title_fullStr The Government of the Indians: An Anthropology of State Formation in Oaxaca, Mexico
title_full_unstemmed The Government of the Indians: An Anthropology of State Formation in Oaxaca, Mexico
title_short The Government of the Indians: An Anthropology of State Formation in Oaxaca, Mexico
title_sort government of the indians an anthropology of state formation in oaxaca mexico
topic legal fiction
state formation
indigenous form of goverment
representation
violence
url http://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/iconos/article/view/1672/1300
work_keys_str_mv AT yerkocastroneira thegovernmentoftheindiansananthropologyofstateformationinoaxacamexico
AT yerkocastroneira governmentoftheindiansananthropologyofstateformationinoaxacamexico