El patrimonio biocultural maya-yucateco desde la perspectiva de la ecología política: El caso del huerto familiar en Chimay

Abstract

The traditional management of productive systems by the Yucatec-Mayas, such as the family orchard and the milpa, has allowed the communities to survive and reproduce for millennia. However, external factors such as productive public policy programs threaten the synergy between society and nature. This article summarizes the characteristics of the community of Chimay in Yucatan, and the impact of the implementation of the Socio-Productive Family Orchard Program (PPSFT in Spanish) on the traditional management of the orchard from a political ecology and a cultural control theory perspective, through a qualitative approach. The findings indicate that although the beneficiaries have appropriated certain elements introduced by the program, in order to maximize production, there are also imposed and alienated elements such as the format of the workshops and the dependence on the program for seed distribution, affecting mainly traditional practices, knowledge, and local traditional institutions. From a political ecology perspective, the external elements can deteriorate traditional values, favoring a relationship of dependency between the beneficiaries and the State. Therefore, it is necessary to reflect upon and consider the implications of such programs, froma global and multidisciplinary approach.