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This paper has the main purpose to analyze the social programs that helped the reconstruction phase of the disaster in Angangueo, Michoacan, after the flood and landslides surrounding the community. The methodological strategy used in this work was qualitative, using investigation techniques like documentary research, interview and non participant observation. With these tools some programs, implemented by government agencies, were identified. Such programs helped the affected population and are the following: Empleo Temporal (PET) , DICONSA SA de CV “atención a desastres", Hábitat, Ahorro y Subsidio para la Vivienda, Tu Casa, Opciones Productivas, además del Fondo Nacional de Apoyos para Empresas en Solidaridad (FONAES) y el Fondo de Desastres Naturales (FONDEN), the last one financed the majority of the programs implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper scrutinizes the discourse that prevailed in Mexico and in the world in the last few decades in respect of the so-called micro, small, medium-sized and large companies "sector", insofar as it is one of the most tangible expresions of the new liberalism that has been enthroned as the dominating ideology and doctrine since the early 1980's. The view is held here that said discourse must be trascended and a new veritable industrial policy must be formulated, one that allows for the needs and problems of the industries to be addressed selectively and in a planned manner for the sake of the social and economic priorities of the different communities and regions in the country. It is argued that this policy must be nurtured from the great experience accummulated by the Mexican State during the 20th Century whose peak was reached in the policies implemented in this sense by the Luis Echeverría and the José López Portillo administrations in the 1970's. Essentially, the idea would be for the Mexican State to assume again an active role in managing the national economy, for it to resume its corresponding role planning and promoting economic activities, something the market cannot do on its own. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper builds an interpretation of violence in the State of Mexico. Part of recognizing that the continuing conflict/violence/crime is likely to be canceled to the extent that society generates a public moral with conflictuality minimums, and police to engage with society. From the construction of the two components may create conditions for building a democratic and peace society in which the state maintains a monopoly on force. The inputs of this work was the focus groups of police and representatives of civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on women and work are substantial; however, the relevance of the subject allows continue investigating and know the current experiences of its protagonists. It is precisely the purpose of this paper analyze contemporary reflections of mothers-fathers with respect to the exercise of motherhood and work. From the socio-cultural perspective, as part of a qualitative methodology, in-depth interviews were made to middle-class parents. Reported their reflections and the reasons why renounce women the labour field. Become critical reflections on the topic and proposed alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexican soap operas have begun to incorporate notions of citizen rights within storylines anchored to contemporary public debate. Based on an analysis that followed the representation of abortion and alternative family formations in the soap opera Alma de Hierro, this paper argues that telenovelas' engagement with the public domain may hinder civil rights and the actors who pursue them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For much of the twentieth century youth and its inherent problems were not considered under review by social sciences in Mexico, due to lack of relevance of the topic. However, since 1985 with the celebration of International Youth Year, it acquired some prominence within the government agenda and therefore in academia; hence, there were generated the first outlines of the theoretical study youth in Mexico. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the main theories and various research reports on the construction of scientific knowledge about young people in Mexico. In this connection they stress the contributions in terms of organizations, youth cultures and identities, emphasizing the latter some of the main findings about the heterogeneity of youth. It also provides important results regarding the problems that generally affect young people in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mexico and in other parts of Latin America, a large overlap can be observed between indigenous territories and regions of high biological value. In this paper, we ask if the same overlap can be observed in the state of Jalisco, in western Mexico. To answer this question, we start with a succinct analysis of the two main indigenous regions in rural Jalisco: the Huichol Sierra in the northern part of the state and the Sierra of Manantlán, in the southern part. Then, we extend our analysis to the state in its entirety in order to measure the overlap between indigenous territories that have been "desindianized" and regions of high biological value. This is done by comparing the municipalities that contain agrarian centers designated as "indigenous communities" and the municipalities that areas officially recognized for their ecological importance. A high correlation between these two variables is observed, leading to the question "why". A series of hypotheses is developed and these are contrasted with empirical evidence through a case study of the ejido of Ayotitlán, in the Sierra of Manantlán. Although different forms of environmental degradation can be observed in Ayotitlán, it continues to be one of the best conserved territories in the state of Jalisco, with high levels of biodiversity. This is due, not only to its isolation, but also to the way in which the indigenous inhabitants have interacted with the environment and because of their activism in defense of their territory and natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we assess the impact on socioeconomic conditions, quality of life and empowerment of women who were beneficiaries of credit programs aimed at women’s productive projects. These projects were developed between 2000 and 2003 by four federal agencies (Sedesol, CDI'INI, Fonaes y SRa) in the states of Tabasco, Campeche and Quintana Roo in Mexico. Likewise, we examine the opportunities for individual, family and community development of the women involved in these projects. We identified the operating characteristics of these programs in order to identifies deficiencies in their performance and suggest viable alternatives for a better implementation and a higher social impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses three recent trends in the business world: the presence of greater numbers of women in this activity, the formation of organizations to support their work and the construction of a new profile of women entrepreneurs. I will question about how the increase of women in business has not been reflected in a greater position of them in the direction of the traditional sector organizations. However, it detects a tendency to seek and incorporate non-governmental organizations to support their work with gender claim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the market of the pay television industry in Mexico. The main objective of this research is, firstly, to generate statistical information to measure the economic and market concentration of the sub-sector in the face of changes that are being established with the technological convergence and triple play (voice, video and Internet in one network and transmission infrastructure). It also presents a brief historical review of the subsector to understand more fully the particularities of the Mexican case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper displays some common and some specific trends found in a comparative analysis of bibliometric data shown by a set of master's degree theses, presented between 1996 and 2005 in five Mexican universities. This is done in order to derive from them some hypotheses about the profiles of production and reproduction in the academic field of communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the market of the pay television industry in Mexico. The main objective of this research is, firstly, to generate statistical information to measure the economic and market concentration of the sub-sector in the face of changes that are being established with the technological convergence and triple play (voice, video and Internet in one network and transmission infrastructure). It also presents a brief historical review of the subsector to understand more fully the particularities of the Mexican case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, poverty analyses and policies against poverty have incorporated women as a relevant factor. Nevertheless, some criticisms have been raised against them: first, most of the time, they have relied on an instrumental perspective which does not guarantee better conditions of gender equity; second, poverty analyses have generally become reactive tools that seek to compensate for a current situation, not to prevent it from occurring in the future. This paper therefore proposes to go beyond poverty analyses to identify distinctive features of households derived from social constructions that have an effect on vulnerability, particularly in households headed by women. We point out the importance of an analysis from a gender perspective in order to identify the features which make households more vulnerable to suffering or worsening their conditions of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mexico, the "in-charge" system has historically been represented by men. However, when the men emigrate towards the United States, the responsibility can fall on the women of the family. The aim of this paper is to identify changes in the gender relations between women and men in charge of organizing the festivity of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12 in La Laja, Queretaro, Mexico, in a context of international masculine migration. It is an ethnographic study on this festivity through direct participant observation and in-depth interviews. In the absence of their husbands, women make individual and group decisions in order to fulfill their religious duties. Because of these new responsibilities, there would seem to be some elements that empower women. Nevertheless, the traditional gender relations keep on being reproduced, undermining the advances made towards the women's autonomy. The women's compulsory participation in the "in-charge" system subjects them to further feminization of gender inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on Amartya Sen's theoretical insights, this paper analyzes indigenous women's poverty in the Sierra Negra, Puebla, as well as their development capacity resulting from their participation in the "Sociedad de Productores Indígenas Ecológicos Sierra Negra Sociedad Civil" (SPIESN, S. C.). Data was collected using a quanti-qualitative approach: a survey, eight in-depth interviews, three participatory workshops and field participant observation were conducted. Results indicate that women value literacy, own-income generation, and land ownership. However, they also face structural limitations when attempting to develop capacities in these areas. Their participation in the organization has given positive results to this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes how women in the state of Guerrero perceive and actualize their lives as impoverished persons. The purpose is to find out how these women experience their conditions of deprivation, how they perceive them and construct representations of them based on their experience as women and gender relations. By paying attention to the voices of impoverished women, one can identify the day-to-day processes of poverty that can deteriorate family and social relationships, but also act as powerful agents, generating creative strategies to mitigate the impact of real life conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper supports the idea that the ways in that the Spanish Crown developed its relationship with the indigenous Mexican groups during colonial age were apart from of the equality forms promoted by the Mexican liberalism in the XIX Century. This was because the Colony tried to respect the differences between regions (included small locations) in order to validate legal, behavioral and pluricultural frames. Regarding this, there are two aspects to highlight: the intellectual debate around of the two legislations (colonial and liberal) and the arguments according to what was considered the social organization needs of the political model prevailing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article lays emphasis on an issue that has been analyzed very little in Mexico, the different forms that organized volunteering has adopted and the diversity of actions carried out by these groups which are largely made up of women. In an attempt to explain what has happened in connection with this issue, this paper analyzes the different contexts in which the actions of volunteering have been generated and how they have printed on the popular belief an image of feminine charity to which the State contributed in the 20th Century, marginalizing other organized activities and actions. I propose that this diversity and specificity of the Mexican volunteering movement is embedded in specific cultural forms and they are particularly contrasting with the vision and acting that the Anglo-Saxon society has of these groups. On the light of the concept of volunteering, the different forms of expression that it has had since the 19th Century up to the present are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses microcredit as a possible instrument for local development, especially when some financial institutions arrive in local towns of limited resources with credit possibilities in soft conditions and when there is a constant training for the use of said resources on individual or collective projects for the production and the services. The paper analyzes the specific program of the Sistema de Financiamiento Rural Alternativo (SIFRA, System for Alternative Rural Financing), which has been implemented in the state of Jalisco for several years, with the support and collaboration of the government's Secretaría de Desarrollo Rural (Department of Rural Development) as well as that of several non-government organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the work Cantos Cívicos (Civic Chants) presented by Miguel Ventura and NILC at the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MuAC) at the UNAM. Due to the controversy this play brought about, this paper analyzes the arguments presented in the debate and proposes a philosophical theoretical framework to examine them critically. The result of this reflection is the incorporation of aesthetic and philosophical categories that allows for us to understand the work beyond the creator and his intentions, which makes it possible to confront the topic of Nazism incorporated in Cantos Cívicos with a critical awareness that does not call for censorship immediately and irreflexively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on data on a very wide spectrum of behavior, attitudes and stereotypes through which gender discrimination manifests itself, this paper introduces and sketches in broad strokes the current situation of gender equality and gender violence in elementary and secondary schools in Mexico. The sample included 395 public elementary and secondary schools nation. wide; questionnaires were applied to 26 319 boys and girls. Among the most important findings are that: a) two thirds of the boys and the girls reported having been physically assaulted in the last two years; b) 6.3% of the boys and girls said spontaneously that the first thing they would change about their school would be to reduce violence, and c) that psychological aggression has the highest incidence and is directed towards both boys and girls, but has a greater effect on the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the framework of the Ley de Derechos y Cultura Indigena (The Bill of the Indigenous Rights and Culture) passed in our country in the year 2001, several states initiated a process tending to approving a series of constitutional reforms on the indigenous issue. In this paper, we revise the case of Michoacán, which unfortunately did not end well. We describe the process that contributes to explain its failure. We analyze the different indigenous reform proposals as presented by an ethnic organization as well as by the members of the Michoacán Commission for Indigenous Reform. We include the different versions of the proposal for indigenous reform until it became the Initiative presented finally by the PRD to Congress, and the points that generated greater debate among the legislators. Lastly, we try to have people reflect on certain reforms that are possible from the juridical point of view in spite of the fact that the national legal framework is very restricted, because they have been approved by some state legislatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper works from the hypothesis that the businessman's transgression to the political-electoral sphere was due to the accumulation of capital; taking as a premise that the accumulation of capital does not only occur in the natural sphere of the above mentioned actor, the economic sphere; but also that it must be resolved with the accumulation of capital in the social, cultural spheres as well as in the political one. The theoretical proposal is Political Geography; and in order to make evident the above mentioned process of the businessmen's accumulation of capital - transgression of spheres, the case of the Aguascalientes businessmen is approached from an empirical point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the discourse around and the image of Malinali (la Malinche) as a historical and literary figure. The study encompasses journalistic and literary discourse since the beginning of the 20th century --although it actually started in the 19th-- and reflection upon Mexican identity and its artistic and cultural representation in the second half of the 20th century, as well as how children and young people view Malinali in the 20th century. It shows the diversity of opinion and different versions of the character, according to the views of the social actors in question, and the historical change in this outlook taking place in our time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the analysis of the Post Cold-War International Political System and the corresponding Inter-American System, as important frameworks to carry out the research of regional mediating powers, in general, and of two regional mediating powers in particular, cases in point: Brazil and Mexico. Consequently, two pictures of the states' structural positioning are constructed, a general one (in the International Political System) and an individual one (in the Inter-American System), which makes it possible for us to identify the regional mediating powers in the world and in America. This way, Brazil and Mexico are identified as States that exhibit important capabilities and play mediating roles among the world powers and the neighboring States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the development of internet research (mostly anglophone) between 1990 and 2007. To do so, some major theoretical topics of internet studies are analyzed, and several key debates are described in order to show the internet's evolution as an object of study. It is suggested that internet studies have become a field of knowledge under construction with increasing academic legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses Mexican cinema, not as a form of consumption, but as a cultural practice that produces and reproduces meaning, as well as film viewing "as an interaction, re-signification and negotiation" of this meaning, and film audiences as the construct and the subject of an interpretative community. The analysis is based on empirical materials obtained from different audience segments in Guadalajara, and on two landmarks of contemporary Mexican film: Amores Perros (2000) directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, and iY tu mamá también! (2001) directed by Alfonso Cuarón, discussing how gender as a referential and analytical category had an important effect on the audience's film viewing and film-related discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a study on the relation existing between the concepts of vulnerability and victimization. Victimization is not limited to the situation of a person who has suffered from a crime. "Tacit" victimization --as we have labeled it-- may be suffered by any person due to endogenous and/ or exogenous causes; among the latter, poverty is one of the most harmful. In this sense, tacit victimization which derives from vulnerability must be tackled by means of public policies of social orientation. The State must comply with this purpose, in stead of spending Money on patrol cars and weapons, because the millions of victims that erratic public policies cause surpass the thousands of crime victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the "value" that as a historical construction has been assigned to childhood, specifically in a local newspaper of Guadalajara in the years immediately following the Mexican Revolution. Far from the discussion of the last years of the 19th century on the children as workers, in the first decade of the 20th century children were defined as having a "priceless" sentimental value, associating to this certain practices and representations also linked to consumerism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the links between divorce law, gender differences, and justice for women in a working-class neighborhood of Guadalajara, Mexico. It presents evidence from women, lawyers, and judges, that shows how the application of divorce law does not necessarily mean justice for women. The testimony presented has to do with women's experience, but also with that of lawyers and judges who are in charge of divorce cases. The article is part of ethnographic research on how men and women take decisions in the process of divorce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an analysis of a government-led microcredit initiative in the state of Tabasco. It incorporates the viewpoints of various government employees who were involved in the initiative's design and responsible for the offices and field staff who implemented it, and especially the viewpoints of the women who were the beneficiaries of the program. Thus, the program operation and the women's perspective of its impact are reconstructed. The information contained in the text stems from a review of the guideline documents of the program, structured, semi-structured and in-depth interviews with the women beneficiaries, government employees, the operating and coordinating staff of the offices, and intermediary finance administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city of Guadalajara and the relationship it maintains with migrant workers and the money they send home from the United States are the main focus of this paper, which seeks to identify the role of international migration in families, and whether it results in an improvement in standards of living. What are the consequences of migration and the money sent home by migrants on urban families? It is assumed that they have a direct effect on the families' well-being, and lead to significant changes. Special attention is paid to the households, their composition and the family relationships within them. The combination of these elements may shed light on the power structures within families and their possible economic causes in a context of international migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the advances of a research project about the efforts of a women's association of the coastal region of Jalisco within the frame of the Alternative Rural Financing System (SIFRA), and in particular the expansion and reformulation of livelihood strategies that women are developing with this micro-credit program's support. It discusses the relevance of the concepts of assets and social capital to analyze the program's results, as well as their usefulness to identify the shared resources and understand the processes through which they are established, used, and tested. It also argues that such processes are vulnerable to conflicts and the exercise of power, and that keeping this in mind may help to avoid turning social capital into a normative concept and to define its analytical capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the new ways of building and living in the outskirts of the conurbation area of Guadalajara, the "big housing developments", those that according to their size are similar to standard cities, but having no infrastructure as a regular one. In fact, they are only-one-function places: housing; being sharply separated by resting, working and recreational spaces. This characteristic has made possible a new way of sociability in comparison to daily life in the traditional environment or neighbourhoods, residential development and developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In May of 2004, the "3rd Summit of Heads of State and Government of Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union" was held in Guadalajara, Mexico. Simultaneously, civil society organizations met in the same city, where they carried out several activities, among them, a unitary pacific demonstration that resulted in several riots. This paper shows the Mexican government's efforts to criminalise the social altermundista movement; as well as the role played by the Catholic Church, the entrepreneurial upper elite and local media. Despite the electoral legitimacy discourse and the political re-democratization, there are some signs of returning to authoritarianism but also a return to the struggle for defence and the widening of civil rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can television participate in the generation of an environmental consciousness in Mexican viewers? What kind of environmental content appears in the national networks in Mexico? These questions are tackled in this paper interested in understanding the contribution of television, as a socialization force, in the awareness of the environment in national audiences. The article shows the findings of a content analysis of programs and contents related to the environment in national television during 2003, 2004 and 2005. According to this study Mexican commercial television does include environmental topics, but restricted to stories about nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, from the power relations and sustainable development perspective, deals with the problem of water supply in Ocotlan, as a result of public policies for regional development implemented in the country during the 50's, last century. Ever since, the city's economic activity changed and there was an urban-industrial growth, and consequently, an increase of the water demand. Nevertheless, the water resource supply was prioritized over the domestic sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is aimed to analyze the discourse of PRD, PRI and PAN candidates in the months of March, April and May during the 1997 elections for Mexico City's Mayor I thus analyze the discourse strategies of the main actors involved in an attempt to answer various questions: What are their attack and defence strategies? How do political actors build their identities? How do actors define their problems and what solutions do they propose to solve them? For the discourse analysis, understood as the set of texts issued in a particular political situation and an identity field concerning apolitical problem, I rely on the frame analysis approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the role played by TV Azteca in the Mexican TV system ever since its birth in 1993. Our research focuses on the policies and strategies implemented by the company, both at the production and programming levels as well as the economic and financial spheres. The analysis we proposed can be framed within the context of the regional integration of Mexico, USA and Canada, approached from the point of view of the political economy of communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]