ENVIRONMENTAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEGRADATION IN PEASANT AGRICULTURE - A CONSEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT IN MEXICO

In a rural community in Mexico, semiproletarianization and emigration have led to a local shortage of labor and, consequently, to the weakening of indigenous institutions that regulate collective action in agriculture. Because these institutions are required to maintain practices that preserve and reinforce ecological equilibrium and resource sustainability in the area, local farming now suffers from chronic environmental degradation and productivity stagnation. Therefore, "Lewis type" development and rural underpopulation may cause ecological disruption and agricultural crisis. To understand why this may occur, we conducted historical and theoretical analyses of traditional resource-management institutions and the macro- and microeconomic causes of their decay.