Tourism and Political Choices of Indigenous Populations in Yucatán

• Author: Heather Hawn,Jennifer Tison
• Published date: 01 September 2015
• Date: 01 September 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X15594397
• Subject Matter: Other Articles

LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES, Issue 204, Vol. 42 No. 5, September 2015, 234–247

DOI: 10.1177/0094582X15594397

© 2015 Latin American Perspectives

234

Tourism and Political Choices of Indigenous Populations

in Yucatán

by

Heather Hawn and Jennifer Tison

Anthropologists and other social scientists have traditionally decried the effects of tour-

ism on exotic cultures, but contemporary research reveals that this growing resource is

being utilized by rational actors to achieve political and social gains. Study of the effects

of tourism on the political choices of Maya in Yucatán suggests that tourism helps indig-

enous actors negotiate favorable terms with state and private actors. Further, the presence

of tourists reorganizes the costs and benefits of behaviors such as protests or land inva-

sions. Thus this extrainstitutional behavior is more prevalent in the largest tourist areas

(Cancún, Mérida, and Chichén Itzá) and covert behaviors such as pilfering and sick-outs

in nontourist areas.

Tradicionalmente, los antropólogos y científicos sociales han condenado los efectos del

turismo sobre culturas exóticas, pero la investigación contemporánea pone de manifiesto

que este recurso creciente está siendo utilizado por actores racionales para lograr beneficios

políticos y sociales. El estudio de los efectos del turismo sobre las preferencias políticas de

los maya en Yucatán sugiere que el turismo ayuda a los actores indígenas a negociar tér-

minos favorables con actores estatales y privados. Además, la presencia de turistas reor-

ganiza los costos y beneficios de conductas como protestas o invasiones de tierras.

Entonces, esta conducta extra-institucional es más prevalente en las zonas turísticas más

grandes (Cancún, Mérida y Chichén Itzá) y las conductas encubiertas como el rateo y las

ausencias colectivas por enfermedad prevalecen en zonas no-turísticas.

Keywords: Indigenous people, Tourism, Mexico, State, Rationality

Indigenous populations lag behind others with regard to economic develop-

ment and political representation. For example, in Guatemala during the years

1989–2000, poverty rates declined by 25 percent for nonindigenous populations

and only 15 percent for indigenous populations (Hall and Patrinos, 2006). A

similar pattern was observed in Yucatán during the years 1992–2002, when

poverty rates declined by 5 percent for nonindigenous populations while there

was no appreciable reduction for indigenous ones. These structural inequalities

are further reinforced by indigenous populations’ limited access to public

goods such as quality education, health care, and public infrastructure. Despite

Heather Hawn is an assistant professor of political science at Mars Hill University, just outside

Asheville, NC. Her current research focuses on indigenous movements in Mexico and Guatemala

and the economic and political development of Latin America. Jennifer Tison is a political scientist

and associate director of institutional research at Morehead State University in eastern Kentucky.

She has done research in education for the University of South Carolina’s Office of Program

Evaluation and studied the role of women in the political apparatus of underdeveloped states.

594397LAPXXX10.1177/0094582X15594397Latin American PerspectivesHawn and Tison / TOURISM AND POLITICAL CHOICES IN YUCATÁN

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