Servicios Personalizados
Revista
Articulo
Indicadores
-
Citado por SciELO
-
Accesos
Links relacionados
-
Similares en SciELO
Compartir
Revista mexicana de ciencias agrícolas
versión impresa ISSN 2007-0934
Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc vol.8 spe 18 Texcoco ago./sep. 2017
https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v8i18.224
Articles
Peasant organization in coffee communities: La Sombra Chiconquiaco, Veracruz, Mexico
1Colegio de Postgraduados-Campus Montecillo. Carretera México-Texcoco km 36.5. Montecillo, Texcoco, Estado de México. CP. 56230. Tel. 01 (595) 9520200. (ohr@colpos.mx; ruben.rivera@colpos.mx).
2Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero-Escuela Superior de Economía. Paseo de la Cañada, esquina con Andador Granizo, Acapulco, Guerrero. (estrada.freddy@colpos.mx; alvarez.xochitl@colpos.mx; ignacio.morales@colpos.mx).
This investigation notes explores the various forms of association and organization that peasants working on coffee have. We discuss the differences between association and organization and a case study is shown to identify these concepts. It starts from the conception of man as an eminently social being, and transiting towards the characteristics and the constitution of the collective subjects from the collective consciousness that is formed when interacting each individual within this social subject. The concepts of association and organization are open to discussion based on the basic premise that the association allows individuals to participate by making decisions that affect them in their daily lives. And in the case of the organization, the people who hold power organize the work of others, i.e., workers or employees, in order to achieve their own objectives and in the case of the association, the partners join their individual economic powers, to form a greater power and to use it in the attainment of its aims. By the above, a society must be understood as an association, while an organization must be understood as a company. Understood as an “instrument to establish purposes, to be constituted as a collective subject and to join forces or individual powers to form a greater power, sufficient to relate positively and successfully with other subjects on the road to the realization of the goals set by the peasants themselves.
Keywords: association; peasants; organization
La nota de investigación indaga sobre las diversas formas de asociación y organización que adoptan los campesinos que trabajan en torno al café. Se debate sobre las diferencias entre la asociación y la organización y se presenta un estudio de caso para identificar estos conceptos. Se parte de la concepción de hombre como ser eminentemente social, y transitando hacia las características y la constitución de los sujetos colectivos a partir de la conciencia colectiva que se forma al interactuar cada individuo dentro de este sujeto social. Los conceptos de asociación y organización se abren a discusión partiendo de la premisa básica que la asociación permite a los individuos participar tomando decisiones que les afecten en sus vidas cotidianas. Y en el caso de la organización las personas que detentan el poder organizan el trabajo de otros; es decir, de los trabajadores o empleados con la finalidad de alcanzar sus propios objetivos y en el caso de la asociación, los socios se unen o juntan sus poderes económicos individuales, para formar un poder mayor y utilizarlo en la consecución de sus fines. Por lo anterior, una sociedad debe ser entendida como una asociación, mientras que una organización se debe entender como una empresa. Entendido aquel como un “instrumento para establecer finalidades, para constituirse como sujeto colectivo y para juntar fuerzas o poderes individuales para formar un poder mayor, suficiente para relacionarse positiva y exitosamente con otros sujetos en el camino hacia la realización de las finalidades establecidas por los campesinos mismos.
Palabras clave: asociación; campesinos; organización
In the Mexican rural sector, the situation of small producers and farm workers is increasingly precarious and disadvantageous in production and especially in the marketing of their products in their own market, since they have to compete with other modern and efficient systems of scale production and that are backed by their respective state, which are positioned in the market at much more economic costs, even if this is not so in their quality. This context is the result of globalization and neoliberal policies in which they are immersed.
Man is an eminently social being, hence they have always met with his peers with the aim of forming groups, communities and societies and thereby being able to meet their needs. Societies are transformed and developed, constituting social life and creating diverse forms of socio-economic organization (Villegas, 2010).
According to Niño (1985), the fundamental characteristic of a collective subject is the existence of a collective consciousness. This occurs to the extent that members of a group acting as individual subjects, by an engagement process and fail to form a collective consciousness (Navarro et al., 1991).
Discussion about the difference between organization and association
Rodríguez (1997) in his master’s thesis notes that: “the term organization has commonly been used as a synonym for association; however, the organization term is used to account for companies or commercial firms, and the Association term, as synonymous with societies, i.e. society of social solidarity, limited company, to mention a few”.
In the case of the organization, the owners or persons in power organize the work of others; that is, workers or employees in order to achieve their own objectives and in the case of the association, the partners join their individual economic powers, to form a greater power and use it in the pursuit of their goals. By the above, a society must be understood as an association, while an organization must be understood as a company.
When referring to peasants, the difference between organization and association is also not clear, what is often done is to speak of organization as a synonym of association, but neither the term of organization nor the way in which peasants are grouped or united corresponds to the definitions mentioned above; however according to the previous precisions it is believed that the use of the term peasant association is more adequate than that of organization. Understood as an “instrument to establish purposes, to be constituted as a collective subject and to join forces or individual powers to form a greater power, sufficient to relate positively and successfully with other subjects on the road to the realization of the goals set by the peasants themselves”.
Types of social relations within associations
Rodríguez and Francisco (1997), refers to the types of social relations within the associations and its main characteristics.
Regulatory social relations
These occur when members of an association share common values and norms, when there is consensus. These relationships are found in the traditional community and in the family.
Utilitarian social relations
These are complementary individual interests, are given in the capitalist type association. The members of these organizations are not associated because they share the same norms and values, but because they see in the process and in the association mechanisms the best way to obtain, each one, the satisfaction of their individual interests.
Although utilitarian social relations contain complementary interests, they may also have opposing interests, which gives rise to internal contradictions, and in certain circumstances, they may lead to the breaking of association.
Coercive social relations
These are imposed on the association from above through the actual or potential use of violence, or it can be subtle, as when a member who is opposed to comply with the rules governing the association for its better functioning is punished.
In all human association there are elements of these three types of social relations, to a greater or lesser extent the more accentuated presence of one or another type of relationship (normative, utilitarian or coercive) is perceived.
By way of conclusion, it can be said that human association is a permanent process of structuring social relations at different levels between individuals and groups, which is also a dynamic process involving conflict, collaboration, contradiction and complementarity. For the association of producers to succeed, it must take into account this whole complex of relationships.
Peasant organizations, also called local, community, rural or popular organizations, are basic groupings, formal or informal, voluntary, democratic groups whose primary purpose is to promote the economic or social objectives of their members. Regardless of their legal status or degree of formalization they are characterized by being groups of people that have at least one common goal. They act jointly with local authorities associated with the idea of “bottom-up” development and constitute mechanisms for obtaining credits, inputs, training and other services to promote the well-being of their members (FAO, 1994).
The State abandoned the functions of support to the peasant and traditional agriculture, opting for a new form of field development, in which agribusiness proposals are promoted, for purposes of market response, and not attention to the pressing needs of the Mexican countryside.
Coffee-growing is one of the strategic sectors in Mexican agriculture, because it was one of the pillars of the economy in Mexico in the last century, but today this sector is sunk in a deep crisis (Escamilla, 2007).
The production of coffee has a great historical, cultural and economic tradition at world level and in a very significant way in our country. The coffee regions in Mexico have a great environmental wealth and at the same time they are the poorest: Oaxaca, Guerrero, Veracruz, Puebla, Chiapas, all have this crop in common (Salgado, 2006).
This is how the locality of La Sombra, Municipality of Chiconquiaco, Veracruz has a relationship with coffee, which goes beyond an economic space, as it is closely related to its culture and nature. This culture is part of the history, traditions and local identity. In coffee, as in most agricultural products in the country, there are large differences in technical, financial and economic capacities among the farmers. At present, producers have to use organizational strategies to manage, produce and commercialize their production. In this sense, the organization goes through all aspects of the individual and social life of the rural population. The objective of this paper is to analyze and understand the current organizational situation of the coffee community in La Sombra, Chiconquiaco, Veracruz. Starting from the relation between the associations and the coffee cultivation of this town.
Localization
The work was carried out in the community of La Sombra, in the municipality of Chiconquiaco, Veracruz (Figure 1). Geographically located at 19° 42’ and 19° 49’ north latitude 96° 39’ and 96° 52’ west longitude, which has an area of approximately 133.9 km2 and represents 0.2% of the state territory (SEFIPLAN, 2015).
The Municipality of Chiconquiaco is made up of 51 communities, of which 50 are rural. La Sombra is one of them, with approximately 1 042 inhabitants. The municipality depends entirely on the primary sector, since it generates 70.5% of the total number of jobs (INEGI, 2010). Its main activities are agriculture with 3 478.7 ha (coffee cherry, maize and beans) and livestock with 2 270 ha of total area (bovine, porcine, sheep, goat, poultry, turkey) (SAGARPA, 2015). The research was carried out during the 2015 year, as part of the field of association and peasant organization for rural development (DES634), taught in the Program in Rural Development Studies at the Colegio de Postgraduados.
A bibliographic review was carried out to determine the area of study for the preparation of an interview guide based mainly on the organization and lifestyle within the community of La Sombra, Chiconquiaco, Veracruz.
For this research the interview was used as the main research instrument. Key informants from the community who served as public servants were selected, among whom the following people were considered; Municipal agent, judge, ejidal commissary, chairmen of school committees, water committee, voluntary health promoter, etc.
For this research, it was particularly necessary to resort directly to the daily knowledge of the inhabitants of the community, who were personally approached to ask them about their daily work, their role within the community and together with their interests, economic activities and also their perception of the organization that exists within the community, in order to understand more about the logic and interests that govern this process.
Discussions
According to the field work done and the information obtained through the observations and interviews, it was identified that in the community there are different ways of associating or organizing, among which are: municipal agency, ejido, parent partnerships of the different educational institutions, beneficiaries of the Prospera social program, board of improvements and society of water (Table 1).
Table 1 Major associations and organizations found in the community and their characteristics.
Organización Agencia municipal | Estructura | Función | Modo de elección | Duración |
Agente, suplente, juez conciliador, comandante de policía y 7 policías auxiliares | Resguardar el orden de la comunidad | Por votación, en asamblea comunitaria | 3 años | |
Comisariado ejidal y comité de vigilancia | Presidente, secretario, tesorero y tres vocales | Atender y solucionar problemas de deslinde | Por votación, en asamblea comunitaria | 3 años |
Organización de faenas requeridas | ||||
Informar sobre los programas de apoyo disponibles | ||||
Promotor voluntario de salud | Promotor y auxiliar | Atender los servicios básicos de salud | Por votación, en asamblea comunitaria | Indefinido(cambio y destitución) |
Atención beneficiarios del Programa Prospera | ||||
Responder a las emergencias locales en ausencia de un doctor | ||||
Comités de padre de familia (kínder, primaria, telesecundaria y telebachillerato) | Presidente, secretario, tesorero y vocales. | Mantener en condiciones adecuadas para garantizar el buen funcionamiento de la escuela | Por votación, en reunión de padres de familia. | 1 año |
Sociedad de agua potable | Representante | Organizar faenas para el mantenimiento de la infraestructura | Por votación en asamblea de socios | Indefinida |
Comité de junta de mejoras | Presidente, secretario, tesorero y vocales | Destinar el recurso obtenido en diferentes eventos para las mejoras de la comunidad | Por votación en asamblea comunitaria | 3 años |
The organizations mentioned in the table form the social political structure of the community, which is governed by customs and habits, where the highest authority is the community assembly.
One of the findings resulting from the participation of individuals in the different representative committees of the organizations gives the participating individuals a sense of belonging to the community and makes them aware of the needs of association to pursue common goals.
The organizations mentioned in the table form the social political structure of the community, which is governed by customs and habits, where the highest authority is the community assembly.
One of the findings resulting from the participation of individuals in the different representative committees of the organizations gives the participating individuals a sense of belonging to the community and makes them aware of the needs of association to pursue common goals.
According to Niño (1991) through an organization process, the collective subject distributes, among the individual subjects that compose it, tasks, means and power necessary to achieve objectives and purposes shared by them; this is verified by observing and analyzing the dynamics of life in which the members of La Sombra community interact and develop.
Involving all members of a society, both women and men, make social organizations take shape, because the members of this society actively participate to demand their rights before the corresponding authorities, according to Le Bot (2015), this type of struggle has developed in Mexico over time with results close to expectations.
Another essential element of La Sombra community is the participation of the population in collective work. This participation is conceived as an obligation and as a requirement for a person to be considered a full member of the town. One of the most important forms of this participation is the work called faena that is practiced in conjunction with other ejidos.
According to Navarrete (2008) this work is not remunerated, as it is considered as mandatory. The mobilization of all members of the community allows for public works in a cheaper and efficient way. On the other hand, it is an element that equates the richest with the poorest. It thus reinforces the idea of the community and the reciprocal, ie, equal and corresponding, ties of exchange between its members.
Conclusions
La Sombra community in the municipality of Chiconquiaco, Veracruz, uses the organization as a management tool before the institutions, to obtain support from them and improve their living conditions; however, on many occasions this has been limited by the geographical issues of the community.
In this way, it is observed that in La Sombra community, as in other rural communities, far from services and infrastructure, they have had to organize themselves to be able to satisfy their needs with common objectives, where reciprocity relations are established and trust, developing processes of social participation, which are reflected in the faenas and solidarity demonstrations in cases of emergencies or natural disasters.
As part of the internal organization, La Sombra community is integrated by legal and algal organizations and associations that together maintain the order and dynamics of the local population in addition to contributing to their social and economic benefit.
One of the main problems that the organizations of La Sombra have are the bad conditions in the communication channels which has repercussions in its economy and social welfare.
Take advantage of existing organizations and establish them legally and adequately, and thus have the personality and representativeness necessary to manage various institutional supports, contract credits, make purchases and sales, according to fiscal requirements, protect resources and assets, expand alliances with other sectors and companies.
Literatura citada
Batthyány, K. y Mariana, M. 2011. Metodología de la investigación en ciencias sociales. Departamento de publicaciones, comisión sectorial de enseñanza (CSE). Universidad de la República.Montevideo. 96 p. [ Links ]
Cañón, V. y Lisandro, Le B. J. Y. 2013. La gran revuelta indígena.México. (Ed). Océano. Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo Morelia, México. Tzintzun. Rev. Est. Hist.61(1):307-312. [ Links ]
Escamilla, E. 2007. Influencia de los factores ambientales, genéticos,agronómicos y sociales en la calidad del café orgánico en México. Tesis de doctorado. Campus Veracruz-Colegio dePostgraduados. 254 p. [ Links ]
FAO (Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentacióny la Agricultura). 1991. Participación campesina para una agricultura sostenible en países de América Latina.Participación popular 7. Roma, Italia. http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/t3666s/t3666s00.htm#contents. [ Links ]
Fernández, G. R. 1988. La organización rural. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias-Secretaría de Agricultura y Recursos Hidráulico (SARH). 10-15 pp. [ Links ]
Navarrete, L. F. Los pueblos indígenas de México. 2008. CDI 141. ISBN 978-970-753-157-4. 141 pp. [ Links ]
Navarro, E. 1991. Enfoques y perspectivas en el desarrollo rural. Centro de Estudios del Desarrollo Rural, Colegio de Postgraduados. Montecillo, Estado de México. 150 p. [ Links ]
Niño, E. 1991. Enfoques y perspectivas en el desarrollo rural. Colegio de Postgraduados-Centro de estudios del Desarrollo Rural. Colegio de Postgraduados, Montecillo, Estado de México. 150 p. [ Links ]
Rodríguez, E. y Francisco, J. 1997. La asociación campesina como elemento estratégico para el desarrollo agrícola regional: propuesta teórica. Tesis de maestría. Estrategias del Desarrollo Agrícola Regional. Colegio de Postgraduados-Campus Puebla. Puebla, México. 150 p. [ Links ]
Salgado, L. H. 2006. La organización de productores y el entorno institucional de la actividad cafetalera en Cuetzalan del Progreso, Puebla. Tesis de maestría. El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. 158 p. [ Links ]
SEFIPLAN. 2015. Sistema de información municipal. Cuadernillos municipales. 2015. Chiconquiaco. Gobierno del estado de Veracruz. http://www.veracruz.gob.mx/finanzas/files/2015/05/chiconquiaco.pdf. y http://www.sagarpa.gob.mx/agricultura/documents/cultivos%20agroindustriales/impactos%20café.pdf. [ Links ]
Received: August 00, 2017; Accepted: September 00, 2017