Associations, groups, actors and controversies in the establishment of a“Modelo” group brewery in Acopinalco, Hidalgo, Mexico

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to identify the actors, associations and controversies generated by the establishment of a Modelo brewery in Acopinalco, municipality of Apan, Hidalgo, in 2012-2019. The theoretical references used were the actor-network theory of Bruno Latour, Michel Callon and John Law, and the discussions on territory and its incidence in rural spaces of critical geography, and particularly the territoriality and temporality concepts of Marcos Aurelio Saquet. The methodological strategy used a newspaper review for the identification of participating agents and networks of relationships, actions and controversies. A semi-structured interview was prepared and applied to key informants to collect primary information. The results indicated that the Modelo company, governmental entities, private and regional intermediaries and ejidatarios were the actors involved in the installation of the bottling plant. In the associations, new private agents were identified, such as real estate companies that served as temporary mediators in the physical transformation of the rural territory. Of the three disputes, at least one resulted in a legal conflict.