Abstract

TOLEDO TELLO, Sonia. Amber Rush in Chiapas. Mining in an Agrarian region. Estud. cult. maya [online]. 2018, vol.51, pp.197-228. ISSN 0185-2574.  https://doi.org/10.19130/iifl.ecm.2018.51.865.

In the last few decades, amber from Chiapas gained an important place in regional, national and international markets, but in 2012 the demand increased significantly, generating over-exploitation of the mines. The boom lasted until 2015, however the main social and environmental impacts on the extraction site, Simojovel de Allende, have been notorious. This article analyses the socioeconomic conditions that allowed the heyday of amber, as well as the impact it has had on the social dynamics of the region, especially among young people, mostly from peasant families. The study considers temporal and spatial dimensions in order to analyze the social processes in the region, as an historical configuration product of social and power relations that transcend the physical limits. Furthermore, youth is conceived as a category constructed in particular socio-historical processes and not as an essential condition.

Keywords : Simojovel; globalization; amber; youth; relations and power.