Abstract

PEREZ MENDOZA, Joel. «This Forgotten Corner of Our Homeland»: Projects of the Mexican Government to Control the Border Area of the Lacandon Jungle and Exploit its Natural Resources, 1950-1970. Rev. pueblos front. digit. [online]. 2023, vol.18, e102.  Epub Apr 14, 2023. ISSN 1870-4115.  https://doi.org/10.22201/cimsur.18704115e.2023.v18.655.

At the beginning of the second half of the twentieth century, the border area of the Lacandon Jungle remained uninhabited and unexploited due to difficult access. This paper analyzes the way in which the Mexican government sought to consolidate its presence in and control of this border area and thus exploit its natural resources through implementing a series of projects including the construction of a border highway, on the completion of which depended the colonization, the construction of hydroelectric dams, as well as the exploration and exploitation of oil. Archival sources demonstrate how these projects failed to materialize as expected by the federal authorities.

Keywords : border area; Lacandon Jungle; colonization; development projects.

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