Turistificación y Tren Maya : La identidad cultural como elemento de resistencia en el territorio : El caso del ejido X-Maben y Anexos, Municipio de Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo

Abstract

During the last three decades, various conflicts over territory have been identified in the touristification process in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Among the negative manifestations of these conflicts is the dispossession of ejidal lands, as well as the exclusion and displacement of local indigenous residents. The touristification process in the eastern center of the Yucatan Peninsula has increased territorial conflicts due to the development of megaprojects that have accentuated the speculation of ejidal lands; one of them is the Mayan Train, which has generated a conflict due to dispossession in the ejido of X-Maben y Anexos, in the municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, in the former region of the rebellious Mayans or Macehual Mayans. This article investigates, from the approach of cultural geography through ethnographic methodology, the relationship between the Macehual Mayan identity values and their articulation as elements of territorial resistance in the conflict over dispossession in the ejido of X-Maben y Anexos. Based on documentary research, participant and non-participant observation, interviews with key informants from X-Maben y Anexos, and thanks to research collaborators who manage Macehual Mayan cultural projects, it was possible to identify the memory of the Caste War and the cult to the Santa Cruz as elements of Macehual Mayan cultural identity present in the defense of the territory.