Abstract

TORRES MARTINEZ, Rubén  and  CARRASCO ORTIZ, Elia Haydée. Identity, Separatism, and Hidden Cleavage in Yucatán: The Idea of Yucatecan Exceptionalism» as a Persistent Fantasy in the Local Imagination. Rev. pueblos front. digit. [online]. 2026, vol.21, e823.  Epub Mar 06, 2026. ISSN 1870-4115.  https://doi.org/10.22201/cimsur.18704115e.2026.v21.823.

This study explores the persistence of the idea of Yucatecan «exceptionalism» as a historical, political, and cultural construction that diverges from Mexico’s national narrative. Through the analysis of unresolved historical cleavages, it examines how this exceptionalism is reproduced in separatist movements and contemporary identity discourses. The paper argues that exceptionalism is neither an innate trait of Yucatecans nor the result of isolated regional development, but rather the outcome of enduring structural tensions. The research is framed within contemporary literature on cleavages, regional political identities, and regionalisms in Mexico and Latin America, offering a critical reading of exceptionalism as a persistent fantasy in the Yucatecan collective imagination.

Keywords : regional identity; social imaginary; historical cleavages; regionalism.

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