Abstract

CHI POOL, Jair Alberto; HUICOCHEA GOMEZ, Laura; VERA CORTES, Gabriela  and  PAT FERNANDEZ, Juan Manuel. “It’s Very Peaceful Here”: Socio-territorial Bonds of Subsistence and Affect among Youth from Nunkiní, Campeche Working in Maquiladoras. Estud. cult. maya [online]. 2025, vol.65, pp.277-305.  Epub Sep 08, 2025. ISSN 0185-2574.  https://doi.org/10.19130/iifl.ecm.2025.1/0q27r1v059.

This article seeks to make visible how the bonds and relationships that four self-ascribed Mayan youth in Nunkiní, Campeche maintain with family, community, and with the mountains and milpas, serve as a source of support and cultural sustenance in the face of their disadvantaged situation as workers in a precarious labor sector, the region’s maquiladoras. The authors prioritized an up-close look at key actors -socially and culturally representative of the population in question due to their personal, identity and experiential characteristics- over the representation that a more statistically significant sample would provide. Using a phenomenological approach, it was found that said links operate through the generation of social resources for subsistence and affectivity aimed mainly at maintaining a state of order and balance. These resources generate a highly valued feeling of tranquility in young people which, despite their recognition that their work puts them at a disadvantage, allows them to remain and stay rooted in the community, near their families, and to maintain their expectations of better employment, academic training and a better economy for the future.

Keywords : job insecurity; emotions-affects; Mayans; socio-territorial links; labor studies.

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