Abstract

GARCIA-BRAVO, Ana Bertha. Continuity and rupture in the social representations of the supply, access and management of water for human consumption. Cuicuilco. Rev. cienc. antropol. [online]. 2022, vol.29, n.84, pp.11-37.  Epub Feb 10, 2023. ISSN 2448-8488.

The objective of this work was to identify the social representations associated with the provision and access to water for human consumption. It was approached as a case study in the municipality of Santa María Teopoxco, Oaxaca. An environmental history was elaborated to analyze the representations involved in the access and management of water. Two processes were identified: in the Nahuatl world of Teopoxco there is a legacy of the Mesoamerican indigenous worldview, with the stories of the tepechane, this notion is mixed with the representation of God and the Earth, who provided and allowed access to water. These concepts are opposed to the notion of “resource”. On the other hand, a new representation is emerging, the individual, which is attributed to changes in government policies. That the individual decides on the elements of nature is leading individualistic and mercantile representations in indigenous relations.

Keywords : Nahuatl; government policy; resources management; reciprocity; variegation.