MIXE RESPONSES TO NEO-LIBERALISM: QUESTIONING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS A REMEDY TO FREE TRADE AND GLOBAL CAPITALISM IN OAXACA, MEXICO

The Mexican government has been criticized for its implementation of neo-liberal economic policies that threaten to further impoverish indigenous populations. Given this, it is surprising that in 1997 some members of the Mixe people – one of the poorest indigenous groups in Mexico – condemned the implementation of a new government funding project that was specifically intended to alleviate hardship caused by free trade. The paper argues that objections to both free trade and the new funding program stem from the overarching problem the Mixe face, namely their systematic exclusion from decision-making processes and citizenship at the national level.