Community socio-legal struggles in Los Altos de Jalisco against the Zapotillo Dam

Abstract

The communities of Temacapulín, Acasico and Palmarejo, located in the Altos de Jalisco, have struggled for more than fifteen years to overcome the condition of subalternity to which they have been constantly subjected, under the maxim of a developmental discourse and promoter of the megaproject of the Zapotillo dam. The actions deploy by the inhabitants have been of diverse nature, however, this article analyzes those that make use of the institutional tools to defend their territory, their natural resources and, in general, their tangible and intangible heritage. The proposed analysis involves a approach to the counternarrative built by the historical resistance that these communities have had, from a characterization of the process of struggle and action of the inhabitants of each one of the towns in flooding danger. Finally, the effects and impacts of these forms of socio-juridical resistance are explained, a significant degree of effectiveness in halting dispossession and protecting the territory of the communities has been identified. The analysis of the communities' counternarrative in the face of developmentalism offers a panorama of socio-cultural and identity issues in relation to the territory that are usually not observed in the framework of megaprojects.