Abstract

CRUZ, Margaret. Governing through private norms: Pemex and the creation of an illegible ejido. Iztapalapa. Rev. cienc. soc. humanid. [online]. 2019, vol.40, n.87, pp.45-70.  Epub Nov 20, 2019. ISSN 2007-9176.  https://doi.org/10.28928/ri/872019/atc2/cruzm.

This article analyzes the situation of an ejido in northern Veracruz where Pemex actions in combination with those of local leaders have created a space that is illegible to the State. The ejido’s regularization has been hindered by the vast amount of oil infrastructure within it as well as the opaque manner in which Pemex negotiated the expropriation of a third of the ejido’s land 40 years ago. Through ethnographic research, I discuss how this situation allows ejidatarios to govern ejido lands according to their will, and describe the ways in which governance in the ejido through private/informal norms affects the daily lives of its inhabitants.

Keywords : Mexico; agrarian reform; oil infrastructure; legibility; rule of law.

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