Approach

When it comes to tourism, beautiful landscapes, rich cuisine, are always in mind, all related to unique experiences awaiting. Tourist areas refers to really extraordinary sites, where they live unique experience. However, as visitors, do we ever stop at some point to think about the locals? apparently everything is concentrated in the tourist and we do not think on the receptor site. The socio- cultural consequences, the ecological impact are part of a work in progress of the population, their forms of organization that should be analysed (Lazos, 2013).

Systematization of experiences in tourism, the analysis of specific cases, the role of government agencies and non-governmental studies are needed to show the wide range of possibilities of tourism as a subject from multidisciplinary social perspectives.

The case presented is focused on the territorial implications that has been implementing various development projects by the Mexican state since the mid -eighties, and to the promotion of tourism as a major economic friendly practices environment. This text is the result of six months of fieldwork between 2009-2010 in the communal area of Zapotitlán Salinas, Puebla.

The author's interest arises for the territory discussed of the community at meetings of zapotitecos for impulsing and promoting of tourism projects in the communal land. The management of the spaces designated for the construction of hotels, inns, shops, opened the debate the use of the territory.

This situation would evidence the complex notion that the inhabitants have built regarding the communal area of Zapotitlán Salinas, and thus creating disputes over certain spaces. How is a property legitimized for a single person within a territory that the population identifies as common? for zapotitecos, both history shaping of their village as well as the forms of ownership are key to prove lawful possession of the territory.

In common way the territory is related to a political-administrative, with defined boundaries and recognized by whoever claims it as their own. However, territory is also produced from the exercise of ownership over time, is a social construct in constant transformation, where ownership, power and boundaries are key to its conformation (^{Velázquez, 2001}; ^{Fernández, 2006}; ^{Ramírez, 2006}).

Two meanings of territory are distinguished: 1) administrative political space represented as a politically administered; and 2) experiential space, suitable for whoever accesses it. Territory is understood as a socio-historical construction constantly changing power relations as they emerge.

It is in the territory where different temporal orders are joint with assembled by new territorial rights, or cultural norms. If over time territorialities emerge, how do territories assemble in a specific location? , the State itself, through laws and institutions, recognizes a territory that seeks to produce their own image and recognition between the towns that comprise (^{García, 2006}).

This transition viewed from a historical perspective, shows how practical skills (^{Sassen, 2008}) are constructed. By identifying types of industrial production, disputes and conflicts to specify the particular dynamics of a population that has historically participated in the formation of the nation-state, of a given territory (^{Sasssen, 2008}).

The emergence of institutions such as ANP, municipality or municipal land can transform organizational strategies of the population about their new territorialities settings, highlighting the active role of the public environment.

The territories of Zapotitlán Salinas

Zapotitlán Salinas is located southeast of the State of Puebla in the Mixteca Alta, its geographic position make the site the wettest desert country with a great diversity of cacti. In the territorial converge different assemblies: 1) community land, formally recognized the presidential order of 1964; 2) the county seat since 1837; 3) Biosphere Reserve Tehuacán-Cuicatlán (RBTC) enacted in the year 1998; and 4) those territorialities historically constructed by the people that have been transformed as government institutions have changed (Table 1).

These territorial assemblies have articulated spatiotemporal orders with different speed and scope, producing a series of reviews on the possession and use of land. Zapotitlán exemplifies the complexity in the management and development resulting from the promotion of local development projects, specifically tourism and have resulted in an assembly of different territories, regulated, managed in several ways.

In this case, the history of the creation of the town plays a fundamental role, not only for locals but for government employees, civil associations and municipal authorities that have tried to manage the territory. A key date is 1851, when 216 people buy Hermenegildo Pacheco’s land to establish itself as the Agricultural Society of San Martín Zapotitlán although the agricultural Salinas company is dissolved due to new laws, the constitution of 1917, which were allowed to municipalities have real states; within the memory of zapotitecos remains the notion that their ancestors bought their land and were not government allocations. In the sale-contract of the land, the 216 purchasers (partners) were registered, all the partners had equal rights and obligations. The objective of an agricultural society is that the partners develop their activities on land purchased fairly (^{Arizmendi, 1958-1959}).

Descendants of buyers legitimized they position as private owners of Salinas Zapotitlán to recognition as communal land in the year 1964, where recognized, generally and without internal differences, two types of residents: the commoner and neighbour. As the years passed there was another distinction between the villagers, those who had certificate, accepted to the Department of Agrarian Reform (SRA), and zapotitecos themselves as a community member with all rights and obligations and those that are not recognized by the assembly as community members, who can apply and make use of the land but may be excluded from the groups in power and decision-making.

This seemingly insignificant difference has both economic and political implications that are reflected in the forms of appropriation of the territory. The distinction between the two types of community and neighbours is one of the main features to legitimize the ownership and management of communal land that is home to the county seat. Especially in the last decades that claims recognition from local have made use of such categories as "originating", "commoners" and others.

The municipal seat of Zapotitlán Salinas is within the communal land administration, monopolized by zapotitecos-commoners, since 1939 and until 1999. Commissioner and mayor positions were occupied by families with the highest economic and political power.

Zapotitlán Salinas as communal land and municipal capital refers to a concentration of political power; however, in practice resulted in the interference function between communal and municipal authorities. When the federal budget came to town, with the amendments to article 33 of the constitution, most works focused on communal land.

A former mayor noted that the eighties represented government support after years of neglect behaviour (José C. Interviewed January 15, 2010). The promotion and implementation of productive projects were focused on the use and exploitation of natural resources.

The promise of support for the economic development of families of both the commons and the town turned to be a disappointment to see the failure or lack of the projects continuity. Migration then became the best alternative to improve the standard of living. Faced with this reality, families of migrants and those who decided to stay in Salinas Zapotitlán had more immediate preservation of an environment that visitors used to admire.

Zapotitlán Salinas, a treasure to preserve

The first investigations in and around Salinas Zapotitlán date from the mid-nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Of all the visitors who have come, the most representative for the population have been the Japanese for the extraction of cacti held in in the year 1982. When zapotitecos mention the Japanese refer to Japanese consortium Iwasaki Sanyo Co. LT. This is an issue that people often say so much. People willing to talk about it agree in the next version: Japanese arrived with Zapotitlán Salinas authorities (commissioner and mayor) with a paper issued in Mexico City that allowed them to extraction plants.

Interviewees remember publicity ads in which the Japanese requested people to pack the cacti. Apparently there were people who accepted the job. Alberto C. (interviewed on November 11, 2009) comments that trucks with cactus left the town. Researchers of the National Institute of Research on Biotic Resources (INIREB), seeing how people extracted, packed and rose cacti to trailers, found the managers, there they discovered that the Japanese consortium Iwasaki Sanyo Co. LT had permission issued by the Undersecretariat General Wildlife of Puebla, to collect and transfer the plants to the ducks in Manzanillo, Colima (^{Zavala, 1982}). A demand rose, achieving to stop the shipment to the ducks of Manzanillo, Colima. Who with permission from the General Secretariat of the Fauna of Puebla, extracted species of cacti to be brought to Japan via the docks of Manzanillo, Colima.

Before this situation, employees of the National Research Institute on Biotic Resources (INIREB), seized at least one vessel, and the extraction stopped. This cyclical event mark the start of a series of transformations over the physical-geographical environment of Zapotitlán Salinas by the population. Employees of INIREB supported by the Ministry of Urban Development and Ecology (SEDUE, 1984), promoted the project of a botanical garden for conservation and research; on the November 11th, 1989 was the opening of the Botanical Garden Helia Bravo Hollis. The administration of the place, despite being within the communal land would be provided by the SEDUE, so both the mayor and the commissioner of community property would remain aside.

Since that time, the sub-basin of Zapotitlán Salinas valley was promoted as a nature reserve; however, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) will include it as part of the Biosphere Reserve Tehuacán-Cuicatlán (RBTC) in 1998, The RBTC emerges as a new territory with its own rules, overcoming the existing in Zapotitlán Salinas.

The RBTC is not an autonomous institution, it works under the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), who in turn is governed by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), which serves as a regulatory axis. CONANP is an entity that administers the territory, allowing you to make direct arrangements with local governments.

The activities promoted by the RBTC are circumscribed by the polygon specified in the decree establishing it as a protected area.

Administrative capacity is limited to the range specified in the decree, focusing on the conservation of biodiversity, but does not authorize uses. Zapotitlán Salinas is considered by the RBTC, a priority conservation area for its biological richness and poor economic conditions in which people live. Hence the interest in promoting tourism to earn extra income, avoiding deforestation, inappropriate use of resources or looting.

This concern extends to the municipality, which has promoted the teaching of environmental education workshops, Protection Programmes for Sustainable Development (PROCEDES) and Temporary Employment Program (PET). Promoting tourism is the most popular activity among both the commons and the municipality and in all cases require the approval of the RBTC for good land management.

Tourism on flexible territories

The friendly tourism environment is now promoted as an alternative to the negative impacts of mass tourism. Various forms of alternative tourism are related to sustainable development, taking three clear goals: preserving nature, creating wealth and social development and to create an awareness of inter-generational responsibility (^{López and Marín, 2012}).

The expectations about tourism as local development project have many edges as agents involved in the construction and permanence of this place. Its promotion has implications for the forms of social organization in the country, the type of relationship between people and government authorities. Therefore, it is indispensable to make questions on how local agents change their discourses and practices to benefit from the tourism project?

In the case of communal land Zapotitlán Salinas, tourism began in the early nineties in the Botanical Garden Helia Bravo Hollis. The most frequent visitors are biology students and researchers of flora and fauna from various universities such as National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Autonomous University Metropolitana (UAM), Autonomous University of Puebla (BUAP), Chapingo Autonomous University (UACH).

Since the nineties, the main tourist attraction in the communal area of Zapotitlán Salinas was the Botanical Garden Helia Bravo Hollis, ancient courtyards evaporation to produce salt-the salt production in evaporation Zapotitlán yards Salinas is a practice dating since pre-Hispanic times, and it has been one of the most important economic activities in the town and its surroundings; archaeological ruins. Profits generated by visitors to these sites are still administered by the commissioner of commons in turn to solve the problem of the boundaries with the ejido Reyes-Metzontla.

When the administration of the botanical garden grew, it became for many zapotitecos, in what they call "apple of discord". The commissioner of commons had a secure source of income while visitors, mostly students kept coming. Although, the presence of biologists, archaeologists, agronomists, geographers, among others, was not always well received, people also said that the sharing of knowledge has proved successful indeed.

Tourism in the Botanical Garden Helia Bravo Hollis has been constant, full of internal problems among the community who wish to get involved in its administration and have enjoyed their economic or political benefits. It was not until the promotion of the megaproject tourism of RENAMUR that much of the population was invited to participate.

The salt road, RENAMUR-Zapotitlán

In early 2000, the National Rural Women's Network (RENAMUR) proposed to the authorities of communal land and municipal seat of Zapotitlán Salinas a touristic megaproject that seek to integrate more agents, governmental and non-governmental.

In 2003 RENAMUR employees - the first approach that has the president of RENAMUR in Zapotitlán Salinas was in 2000, through the Funds for Rural Women (FOMUR), the Ministry of Social Development (SEDESOL) and the government of state of Puebla that promoted microcredit and savings fund. The result of this support was the creation of Zapotitlán Community Fund with 200 members (women). Most women began collaborating with RENAMUR, and tourism project were members of the Community Fund-, conduct studies on the tourism potential of Zapotitlán Salinas. By 2005, family groups and work teams were created, offering handicrafts such as mole, chocolate biscuits and amaranth. The objective was to create an articulated RENAMUR thematic network routes and attractions in the town and its surroundings.

The central theme was to promote the traditional knowledge of the region exalting salt production, biological and scenic riches. However, the historical and political context of Zapotitlán Salinas was never considered, otherwise they would have noticed the different notions of communal land ownership.

In the consolidation process, it was visible interest for establishing and equipping business by employees of RENAMUR. For some Zapotitecos, this was a good advertisement for the acceptance of the tourism project. The members of the working groups also made their work placing key people who might be interested in the project.

For the first presentation of the megaproject, about 40 people were invited, most inhabitants of the municipal seat of Zapotitlán Salinas, attended by housewives, businessmen, students, and others to expose the tourism project. After the consolidation of teams, divided into different areas involved in the project, asking for economic support to the Secretaria of Agrarian Reform (SAR).

In 2009, two types of support were requested from the SRA: 1) Program to Support Production Projects (FAPPA) (SAG, 2008) and the Program for Women in the Agricultural Sector (PROMUSAG). In order to avoid a negative environmental impact, the existing tourism infrastructure would be used, like cottages, camping areas, interpretive trails of the Botanical Garden Helia Bravo Hollis.

The communal area of Zapotitlán Salinas and its surrounding seemed to have tourism potential and bases in knowledge, experience and infrastructure for the megaproject work.

However, the lack of knowledge about the management of the participants caused confusion about who should receive certain institutional support. A neighbour, commoner certified or uncertified that had a notion about the property and access to communal land which was not recognized by the Department of Agrarian Reform.

Commoners and neighbours got financial support from the Department of Agrarian Reform (SRA). Even though, operating rules clearly define the person liable to be beneficiary, for the zapotitecos the neighbour rank and commoner had semantic variations. In the communal area of Zapotitlán Salinas, some neighbours had managed to obtain the property titles, while some community members without documentation lacked any field. Recognize the position before the SRA was even more complex than it seemed.

The zapotitecos had their own notions of commoner and neighbour supported by historical data, experience for generations over who have an absolute right, partial or no effect on the use and access of the commons transmitted. When they tried to implement the projects managed there was confusion about the role of members of the tourism megaproject. In practice, neighbour and commoners alike were involved in projects regardless of the operating rules of the SRA.

The dispute over to get the most funding was the main objective regardless of the position of commoner, neighbour or where the facilities would be established. Some neighbours complained after realizing that one of the projects more budget was allocated for the construction of new tourist cabins, a restaurant, campground and spa, all within the Helia Bravo Hollis Botanical garden, communal property.

What kind of benefit would neighbours and the commoners have?, why it was thought that the commoner or neighbours who failed to consolidate their clients or favouritism between the leaders of each working group would serve as an employee of projects presented as communal?, the expectation of economic improvement with the tourism megaproject was high.

The members of the working groups imagined the arrival of hundreds of tourists to the image of the people of Zapotitlán Salinas, a rustic place, full of history and beautiful natural landscapes. When RENAMUR handed the buildings and accounts to the assembled villagers, even with the problems and rumors of corruption, a huge success was expected.

The results looked favourable. Thirteen completed projects - cultivation and use of the cactus flower and vegetable equipment, bicycles for the eco-touristic circuit, marketing of handicrafts, two restaurants, four hotels, information center and a store to sell crafts, society cacti garden, Spa-Salt Road, Zapotitlán’s Hope (information module)- the constitution of civil partnership, Salytur AC, the Road Salt tour, intended to give tours of some of the oldest salt mines of Zapotitlán Salinas accompanied by an explanation of the production process, history, ownership and outlets.

This project did not materialize in full, as most of the salt-owners showed no interest in participating in the project. The few who agreed had family relations with members of the working groups that promoted RENAMUR. Zapotitlán Salinas had the characteristics to be a rural, cultural tourist destination committed to environmental conservation.

The commissioner of community property and the assembly accepted the proposal of RENAMUR, all and each of the projects for the commoner were signed. The mayor agreed that the county seat was the principal center of action, looking to benefit neighboring villages. The RBTC approved on sustainability and low environmental impact of the tourism promoted.

The open invitation to the general population showed differential access to municipal land. The position of the villager was from two different perspectives: institutional and local. The operating limits of each authority faced with the same territorial, communal land at the crossroads of the SRA rules of the community, of neighbours of both communal and municipal administration as constraints rules of RBTC.

¿What after tourism?

After the delivery of the buildings and the opening, there was a time of anxiety and anticipation about the future of the Rude of Sal rute, the civil partnership Salytur and RENAMUR. When the working groups disintegrated, the businesses that survived the offseason were in the hands of family groups.

RENAMUR became an obligatory reference for planning, management and implementation of government projects, especially those relating to the promotion of tourism and handicrafts.

Touristic activity remained a viable option for the people of both the commons and the municipality. Between 2011 and 2013 the mayor in turn promoted tourism.

Tourism management for the organization of cultural events was created, academic meetings, thematic tours, training of tourist guides. The physical-geographical characteristics, rural livelihoods, local knowledge acquired a positive value for the locals. The image of a Zapotitlán Salinas full of treasures embodied in vegetation in the landscape, satl knowledge, collectors, was one of the changes that people experienced with the incursion of the megaproject.

Currently offering both, the communal land as well as Salinas Zapotitlán is wide, between existing projects such as the Botanical Garden Helia Bravo Hollis, the community museum and interpretive trails of San Juan Raya, HICUPA-museum community, and new destinations. In all cases the local authorities and the population still see tourism and management of projects promoting the sustainable use of natural resources, development of handicrafts, natural products as an economic alternative to migrate to the United States or invest dollars of migrants.