Agricultural Crisis, Ecology, and Property Regularization of Núcleos Agrarios in Valle Nacional, Oaxaca

Abstract

This paper addresses the response to property regularization programs of ejidos and communities, by the peasant population of Valle Nacional, Oaxaca. It considers 1) changes in demographic and agricultural income, and 2) the relation between watersheds and núcleos agrarios, as well as the agricultural production systems of the three agro-ecological areas of Valle Nacional. The conclusions are a) ejidos and communities adapted programs of property regularization to those ways in which they manage natural resources and b) the separation between labor and property is an unequal process according to agro-ecological zone. These findings are contrasted with actor’s positions involved in property regularization, aiming to reflect on the concept of property in modern agrarian policy.