Resumo

VENTURA PATINO, María del Carmen. Change and continuity of the indigenous Council (Cabildo indígena) and communal practices in the northwest Purhépecha plateau. Alteridades [online]. 2006, vol.16, n.31, pp.89-105. ISSN 2448-850X.

The institutions of indigenous government that continue to operate in many indigenous communities in Mexico are the result of conflicting processes of social appropriation, resistance and re-signification of the various juridical dispositions and different political-administrative orders imposed since the Colonial period until the conformation of the current Nation-State. Given that communal practice contains a certain overlap with the institutions of government -both indigenous and non-indigenous- a particular form of local government has emerged. Despite the reconfiguration of communal political life brought about by the implementation of new policies of evangelization that are opposed to indigenous religiosity as well as by the emergence of electoral competition due to activities of political parties, in this community of study, the Indigenous Council (Cabildo indígena) maintains its religious authority and continues to play an important role in the exercise of local government.

Palavras-chave : institutions of indigenous government; Nation- State; local government; custom; Church; political parties.

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