Appropriation of the Territory in the Region of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca: Communality vs Mining

Abstract

This article aims to theoretically analyze the type of territory built and acquired under the logic of communality versus the construction and appropriation of the territory by mining companies in the region of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca. This is based on the assumption that the confrontation of both territorialities generates socio-environmental conflicts in the region. Both perspectives of appropriation are analyzed under the vector models of the territory proposed by Milton Santos and under the criticism of the accumulation by dispossession of David Harvey, a logic that pursues the mining activity justified in this work. It was concluded that, on the part of verticality, there is an attempt to subdue horizontality and, from this, materialized resistances arise in different types of socio-environmental conflicts, clearly verifying the assumption made. Finally, an articulation of both vectors of the territory is proposed, since their meeting is inevitable in a space that is considered important for the achievement of the strategic objectives of the state in national planning in Mexico.