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The objective of this paper is to mainstream gender in agroecology, using VIDA's coffee systems as a case study. Data were collected through a mixed, participatory approach, combining qualitative (participant observation, interviews, workshops) and quantitative methods (a census of 24 men and 26 women). Results reveal gender differences across environmental, economic, social, and political dimensions. Women prioritize plant diversity, while men focus on coffee varieties and farm conditions. Both sexes emphasize economic and social sustainability, with women advocating for greater access to resources and benefits. VIDA has a gender-parity leadership promoting territorial defense and youth visibility to mitigate outmigration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexico occupies first place in mining exploration in Latin America, a situation that has caused alarm among native peoples because the implementation of extractive projects threatens their vital space. The objective of this paper is to analyze the actions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the Ixtaca Project in Ixtacamaxtitlán, Puebla, as well as the strategies of territorial defense undertaken by the communities to stop its expansion. Data was gathered through one survey, one workshop and various interviews conducted in three communities a!ected by the project. Results discuss three actions of CSR: 1) job o!ers; 2) investment in community infrastructure; 3) support for social events. Three main defense strategies were identified: 1) collective agreements refusing to sell water to the company; 2) legal litigations in favor of the right to be consulted as native peoples; 3) the strengthening of peasant agriculture thanks to the defense of the ejido, the conservation of irrigation water and the support received from the federal program Sembrando Vida. The paper concludes that, despite the negative impacts of RCS actions, these strategies have proven e!ective because mining concessions have been cancelled and some families have returned to agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3) is a nonenveloped virus of the Circoviridae family. This virus has been identified in pigs of different ages and pigs with several clinical manifestations of the disease or even in apparently healthy pigs. While PCV3 was first reported in 2015, several retrospective studies have reported the virus before that year. The earliest report indicates that PCV3 has been circulated in swine farms since 1996. In this study, we evaluated the presence of PCV3 in samples collected in Mexico in 2008, 2015, 2020, and 2021. This study assessed PCV3 DNA by qPCR and antibodies against CAP protein by indirect ELISA. The results showed that PCV3 (DNA and anti-CAP antibodies) was detected in the samples collected from 2008 to 2021. The highest prevalence was in 2008 (100%), and the lowest was in 2015 (negative). Genetic analysis of ORF2 showed that the virus identified belonged to genotype a, as most of the viruses identified thus far. PCV3 was detected in samples from piglets with respiratory signs and growth retardation, sows with reproductive failure, or asymptomatic piglets and sows. Pigs with respiratory signs, growth retardation, or reproductive failure had a higher prevalence of antibodies and qPCR-positive samples. In conclusion, this study showed that PCV3 has been circulating in Mexico since 2008 and that PCV3 DNA and antibodies were more prevalent in samples from pigs with clinical manifestations of diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The educational system plays a key role in the reproduction of gender inequality, as it transmits sexist norms and stereotypes on a daily basis. Gender-sensitive education seeks to transform educational contents and practices in order to create school environments where the principles of respect, equity and social justice prevail. The objective of this paper is to examine the agroecology curriculum taught at the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Mexico. Data was obtained through a survey, content analysis of course syllabi, and in-depth interviews. Results identified an androcentric bias in teaching contents, and gender discrimination in classroom interaction. It is concluded that gender mainstreaming in higher education is essential to counteract sexism and other forms of social inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the sexual division of labor and the distribution of benefits around milk and cheese production in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca. Methodology: Interviews with 14 women and 17 men, two workshops, participant observation, and 90 questionnaires applied to male and female landowners. Results: Most landowners (67.7%) sell unprocessed milk to cheesemakers in the region. Female landowners are either widows or single; as such, they have less access to resources and lower production levels. A smaller percentage (18.8%) of families transform milk into cheese, with women playing a crucial role and having a larger access to benefits. Limitations: Landowners were selected from the Ministry of Agriculture program lists, thus excluding cattle owners who are not beneficiaries. Conclusions: First, the marital status of women (widowhood or single) increases their vulnerability in the milk market traditionally dominated by men. Second, the transformation of milk into cheese is decreasing in the region, and with it, women's participation in processing tasks and access to ranch benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes women's participation in the struggle against mining extractivism in Soconusco, Chiapas. Data were obtained through a survey, interviews and two workshops. The paper compares two communities (Jalapa and Independencia) which were crucial to achieve the shutting down of the mines, with emphasis on the community structures that organized the protests, the ways in which women participated in them, and the implications of their participation. Jalapa reports the loss of water rights and stigmatization of women, while in Independencia the main problem was their silencing. The paper concludes that movements in defense of the territory must be more inclusive and open to women's needs and interests in order to respond more effectively to the threat represented by extractivist projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay have adopted wind energy as a means to fight climate change. However, their experiences are different and insufficiently documented. This paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the wind industry in light of its future expansion in Latin America. The methodology consists of the systematization and analysis of literature written in Spanish, Portuguese and English. Four advantages and five disadvantages were identified. The advantages are wind energy's reduced carbon footprint, low production costs, the potential for job creation and income from land rentals, while the disadvantages are possible vegetation loss, impact on birds and water sources, oil and waste contamination and health damage. The challenges for public policy are: supporting research on the socioenvironmental impacts of the wind industry and designing tools for their mitigation; developing a full supply chain of materials through technological innovation; distributing the benefits of wind energy equally among the local population, and prioritizing public needs of electricity above the interest of the private sector. If these challenges are not fully met, wind energy projects will be part of a hegemonic structure that claims to solve the problems created by climate change, while in fact continuing to use an extractivist logic, incapable of benefitting people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this article is to analyze the transformation of the waterscape in the municipality of San Salvador Atenco, State of Mexico. The first part documents the different moments of the 20th Century that contributed to the desiccation of this waterscape with a long lacustrine and agricultural vocation; the second part is dedicated to the institutional arrange ments that facilitated the purchase of ejidal lands by the National Commission of Agua (conagua) between 2007 and 2014, in preparation for the (now abandoned) construction project for the New International Airport of Mexico City (naicm). It is argued that water was a key part of the imaginary used by conagua to convince the ejidatario into selling their lands, since agricultural irrigation and the recovery of the former Lake of Texcoco were promised in exchange for the land. However, in reality, what the ejidatarios really received was money that, in general, was used to improve homes, build commercial premises and purchase vehicles. This situation contributed to further increasing the desiccation and urbanization of the waterscape of the municipality of Atenco. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the second half of the 20Th century, the municipality of Hopelchén (Campeche), Southeast Mexico, became the target of programs designed to promote industrial agriculture through the opening of agricultural lands at the expense of the tropical forest. This model gained strength during the first two decades of the 21st century with the introduction of new crops. The objective of this paper is to analyze the factors that favored the expansion of genetically modified soybean in a region characterized by a longstanding milpa and beekeeping tradition. In order to achieve this objective, a mixed methodology is used, including apiary recognition, in-depth interviews (N=40), questionnaires (N=80) and workshops. Results show that the lack of convergence between different productive logics led to a socio-environmental conflict that can be attributed to the transformation of traditional agriculture and to the reduction of vegetation for honey production. The State played a crucial role in the promotion of industrial agriculture due to the government incentives that increased soybean production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the gendered norms regulating access, use and management of poleo Satureja macrostema (Benth.) Briq., a multi-purpose Non Timber Forest Product used as ornament, food or medicine in western and central Mexico. Research was conducted in San Miguel Mixtepec, a Zapotec community of Oaxaca's Central Valleys. Drawing on the literature on governance, forests and gender rights, the paper aims at answering the following questions: who gets to make poleo access, use and management rules? How does gender ideology shape these rules? Whose knowledge (men's, women's, both) takes precedence in poleo decision-making? What is the relationship between these rules and governance efficiency? Results show that poleo harvesting practices are regulated by male-dominated institutions that do not grant rights to women. Female plant uses remain unaccounted for, in spite of the fact that they are more varied than men's. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2010, the United Nations (un) acknowledged the human right to water and urged nation states to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water, as well as sanitation for all. In 2012, the Mexican Constitution was reformed to guarantee this right. This paper examines how social inequality hinders the exercise of the said human right to water in San Jerónimo Tecóatl, a municipality located in the Mazatec Sierra in the State of Oaxaca. Data was gathered using quantitative and qualitative techniques: open-ended interviews, closed questionnaires and workshops, along with tours throughout the Mazatec territory. The analysis focuses on three expressions of inequality: rurality, ethnicity and gender. Regarding the first, the paper shows that the potable water network was not established until the 1980s, and that to this day it provides a poor service, with water shortages for as much as three months per year. Second, the Mazatec territory was fractionalized and indigenous forms of organization regarding water management were weakened due to the construction of dams and the professionalization of municipal governments. Third, the female population is the most affected by water shortages and has no decision-making power with regard to water management. The paper concludes that the social inequalities expressed in terms of rurality, ethnic and gender differences, hinder the full exercise of the human right to water in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three conventions emerged from the Earth Summit of 1992 in order to counteract the world environmental crisis: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. This paper focuses on this latter, with the purpose of building links between desertification and gender. Firstly, both terms are defined in order to establish conceptual links between them. Various documents on gender equality of the United Nations are also discussed in order to analyze the efforts to mainstream gender into the Convention to Combat Desertification. It is concluded that this is the most advanced of the three, although a transition from lip service to concrete actions remains to be seen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three conventions emerged from the Earth Summit of 1992 in order to counteract the world environmental crisis: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. This paper focuses on this latter, with the purpose of building links between desertification and gender. Firstly, both terms are defined in order to establish conceptual links between them. Various documents on gender equality of the United Nations are also discussed in order to analyze the efforts to mainstream gender into the Convention to Combat Desertification. It is concluded that this is the most advanced of the three, although a transition from lip service to concrete actions remains to be seen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP) contribute to the food security of forest communities. Around 1000 of those are used in Mexico, but little information is available on local knowledge and women's roles in NTFP management. This paper pursues three objectives: to describe the distribution, light and soil conditions of a NTFP called "poleo" Satureja macrostema (Benth.) Briq.; to document local knowledge on this plant; to analyze gender differences in terms of access, use and trade. Research was conducted in San Miguel Mixtepec, a Zapotec community of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca. Methods include soil and canopy analysis, participant observation, interviews and workshops. Poleo grows under a closed canopy, in slightly acid, organically rich soils. Local knowledge on the plant's reproductive process contributes to its permanence. The plant is used for community rituals, as ornament, food and medicine. Men predominate in the first two uses and women in the remaining ones. Trading activities are female-dominated, mostly by 'widows' (adult women with children and no partner). The plant is informally traded in regional markets at very low prices. However, its barter or sale contributes to diversify local diets and is a good example of women's subsistence activities in the forest communities of Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the experiences in municipal politics of indigenous women in Oaxaca, Mexico. The data base includes in-depth interviews with the eighteen women who have been elected mayor since 1995, when the Government of Oaxaca legally recognized indigenous self-government. By looking at the women as in/outsiders of their own culture, the article examines the ways in which they question various components of the indigenous autonomous project as well as the performance of western political institutions such as political parties and the educational system. Women's views go beyond the tradition/modernity dichotomy, where tradition is associated with backward, patriarchal institutions and modernity with progress and gender equality. Both tradition and modernity are redefined in order to identify the elements that may contribute to gender equality in the indigenous self-government project of Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Usos y Costumbres system of Oaxaca, Mexico, is a form of indigenous self-government dating back to colonial times. In 1995, the constitution and electoral code of Oaxaca were amended so as to recognize such system as a legitimate form of municipal government. Since then, less than 2% of all mayors per triennium have been women. By drawing on in-depth interviews with all the 18 women who have become mayors since the CAP system was legalized, this paper describes women's paths to the mayor's office. The methodological strategy involves a non-predefined typology consisting of four distinctly gendered career tracks. The typology allows to capture the main factors that shape women's access to the mayoralty (marital status, political party affiliation, community leadership and educational level), as well as the combination among them in specific social contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article aims at analyzing the development of capacities in indigenous women from the Puebla Sierra Negra, as a result of the State's intervention. The methodology used was mixed: a survey, three workshops, eight deep interviews and participating observation. Five government institutions were identified as being relevant for the women: Sedesol, cdi, Sagarpa/sdr, Semarnat and inea. It was verified that programs are fragmented, which has contributed (in a timid, erratic manner) to the development of some capacities. The neoliberal State has proved incapable of boosting them in a more convincing, orderly manner due to the contradictions existing between the commercial opening to agricultural products from the outside and the subsidies policy designed to fight the poverty that the opening itself generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender mainstreaming has become the major tool for governments to promote gender equality since 1995 Beijing Conference. This paper reviews the achievements of GM in Mexican environmental policy through the analysis of two programs operated by SEMARNAT, Equidad de Género, Medio Ambiente y Sustentabilidad program (2002-2006), Hacia la Igualdad de Género y la Sustentabilidad Ambiental program (2007-2012), and Programa Nacional Hídrico (2007-2012). Drawing on this analysis, the paper makes some recommendations to mainstream gender in the design and implementation of the country's water policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes women's participation in the Unión de Productores Orgánicos San Isidro Siltepec (UPOSIS), an organization of coffee producers made up of 105 partners (56 women and 49 men). The unit of analysis are all female partners and wives of male partners belonging to UPOSIS. The central argument is that female partners' full participation in the organization offers them real benefits. By contrast, the wives of male partners actively participate in coffee production but are excluded from the benefits derived from its commercialization and other opportunities of personal growth. The distinction between female partners and wives of male partners is important because it is generally assumed that men's participation in peasant organizations brings benefits for all the family. If women do not have access to the power structure and the economic benefits of an organization, then it is difficult to speak of substantial changes in rural development and gender inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The percentage of women heading a municipal government has only increased a point (from 2.9 to 3.8%) over a decade (1986-2006), as opposed to women in other areas, for example the legislative sphere. This paradox has called the attention of several scholars. This paper reviews the literature on female municipal presidents produced in Mexico. The main debates, approaches and findings on the topic are identified. The paper concludes by pointing out some important research needs: state and regional case studies; the socioeconomic characterization of both male and female municipal presidents at the national level and from a comparative perspective; the analysis of the meanings and costs of political participation for women, and the construction of more sophisticated theoretical approaches, capable of explaining the social determinants at play when women make life choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empowerment can be defined as women's ability increment to widen their life options and make their own decisions. It can be looked at in three dimensions: personal, close relationships and collective. Several studies have pointed out the uneven advancement in these dimensions and women's greater difficulties to transform the close relationship dimension. This paper analyzes three issues of such dimension: women's possibilities to manage their own income; their ability to negotiate their domestic workload; and their freedom of movement. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 women who compose the Regional Fund of Chontal Women from Tabasco (Fondo Regional de Mujeres Chontales de Tabasco). A family typology was constructed in order to analyze these three issues according to each family's composition and life cycle. Results evidence women's ability to negotiate changes in income management and freedom of movement, but not in the redistribution of their domestic workload. In the concluding section, the paper discusses these findings and comares them to those obtained in similar works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty has been defined not only as the absence of income but also as the lack of abilities, information and social networks that can guarantee basic levels of human welfare. Based on this definition, multidimensional methodologies use a series of indicators to measure poverty. This paper examines the conditions of poverty in Ixhuapan and Ocozotepec, two native communities of sierra de Santa Marta, Veracruz, using the multidimensional methodology developed by Embriz et al. [2001]. The paper confronts the indicators used by these authors (household characteristics, public services, occupation, income, education and health) with community data obtained through a survey and 16 semistructured interviews. Results show that some indicators are relevant to the local population (occupation and income, educational levels, electricity), whereas others require further research since they did not appear to be a worry that people have (housing crowding conditions and household floor materials). Also, some indicators need to be looked at in a more wholistic fashion. For example, the question regarding household running water must be accompanied by others exploring its real availability, and the drainage indicator must include the whole treatment system. Finally, new themes emerged during the interviews, like the existence of roads and the increasing loss of food security at the community level. These themes need to be transformed into indicators in order to move forward in the definition and measurement of poverty in the country, particularly in native regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines different approaches to nutrition and food consumption practices in Mexico in terms of conceptual focus, analytical tools and major debates. Four approaches are analyzed: research that examines Mexican public policy vis-à-vis food production and distribution; economic studies focusing on the analysis of the national food pattern; anthropological investigation based on cultural feeding habits and research from a nutritional perspective, studying food consumption and its relation to population nutritional status. This paper points out that the above approaches do not consider a gender perspective, and reviewing some studies based on a gender category as their central analysis tool, the paper underlines the need to conduct further research on gender differences between men and women and their access to productive resources, income management and food distribution and consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hñahñu (Otomi) farmers organize their experiences and ecological learning into a farmland system designed to grow food in areas of scarce water and low soil fertility. The purpose of this paper is to examine Hñahñu concepts and categories pertaining to the farming landscape and the ecological foundations underlying the system, its management implications, and categorial organization in Huitexcalco de Morelos, Mezquital Valley, Mexico. Methods: Native terms and their links to landscape were recorded and discussed in various workshops. Open interviews and field trips with local experts were used to explain soil and water management practices that allow Hñahñu farmers to maintain sustained yields throughout the year. We then used participatory mapping in order to explore the semantic relations of the terms with the space and its validity in the productive landscape. Results: We elicited 7 Hñahñu language terms related to landforms, 4 related to land use categories, and 17 related to their constituent components organized in two hierarchical levels. We found that mothe as a term of land usage was followed by mothee, ñut'athee, gadñhe, or muiñhe; these primarily refer to the topographic position of the parcel and the form of access to water for irrigation. Stone barriers and earth channels represent the functional structures that are most commonly used by Hñahñu farmers to retain soil and water. In the participatory mapping results, mothe muiñhe displayed a robust spatial link with the gullies. Identifying other landscape categories required a substantial understanding both of management practices of soil and water and forms of organization. Conclusions: This study revealed a complex system of knowledge that contributes to the continued proper management of the local landscape. The terms and their elicited meanings are key to understand the ways in which Hñahñu farmers conceptualize and relate the reality of their landscape and its cultural meanings. Scale and perception were found to have a determining role in defining their taxonomic organization, semantic structure, and relations in space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on seroprevalence in a cohort of healthcare workers (HCW) at an ophthalmic medical center. IgG antibodies against the N, S1, and S2 antigens of SARS-CoV-2 as well as their serum neutralizing activity were determined. In the present study, we observed that 98.4% of HCW were seropositive for S1/S2 proteins of SARS-CoV-2 due to the national vaccination program. Interestingly, 78.4% of the participants had anti-N protein antibodies, suggesting previous COVID-19 infection. We also evaluated the neutralizing antibodies and found that the mean value was high (90.7%). These results indicate that our HCWs cohort presented a robust hybrid humoral response owing to the massive national vaccination program and natural infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines historical changes in the spatiality of political power through the analysis of four communities of Mexico's Mezquital Valley during the late Postclassic (900–1521) and early colonial (1521–1574) periods. Recent research has suggested that the spatiality of ancient states is better understood by using networks and bounded-territory models rather than the dominant model of the modern nation-state. We find that tributary relationships and political entities of the Aztec imperial forces are better captured through a theoretical perspective that defines political entities as networks, while Hñahñu (Otomí) territoriality, usually defined by watershed divides, is more accurately illustrated using a model based on territory and boundaries. Post-conquest systems of spatial representation brought by the Spaniards were oriented towards idealized geometric forms and concrete borders. However, the study reveals that such systems were not fully implemented because colonial institutions were designed using pre-existing forms of political organization. Methodologically, the historical knowledge of a group of local experts was essential for reconstructing the changing spatial patterns of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores how the interplay between economic and gender factors shapes women's and men's perceptions of disease, search for attention and likelihood of success in treatment. Prevalence of tuberculosis in Veracruz, Mexico; Models that explain causes and symptoms of disease in different ways; Association between tuberculosis and poverty.

In this synthesis paper, the authors of this Special Section contribute towards a collective research and policy agenda on rural and indigenous women's forest and land rights in Latin America. Based on the key lessons from the empirical evidence, we map out a way forward for the research agenda and suggest a few key institutional and policy priorities for rural Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]