Land ownership, infrastructure and conservation policy as exclusionary mechanisms from tourism development in the coast of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Abstract

Tourism stands out as a development strategy in the global south. Yet, according to its own promoters, two of its central problems are lack of local participation in its benefits, and environmental destruction. The objective of this piece is to show that hose problems are nor fortuitous, and that despite its developmentalist overtones, they can be atribued to the touristic project envisaged by the state. Taking the case of a tourist-dominated region of the south of Mexico, three mechanisms of exclusion are analyzed: intervention in the property regime; creation of infrastructure and environmental regulation. In addition to confirming the exclusionary nature of the tourist enclave model, the analysis allows to understand the logic of resistance / acceptance of the communities and suggests that only local appropriation will make tourism a true development alternative.