FEMINISTS IN THE RAIN-FOREST IN MEXICO

Government policy in Mexico has borne heavily on rural areas, and particularly on women. This article examines the present plight of women in new land settlements in the Mexican rainforests, comparing the problems they themselves identify with those apparent in the world literature on land settlement; comparisons are also made with the Colombian experience. Four pioneer localities in Mexico are described, and from an assessment of one of them it is argued that options are as much constrained by skills as by access to capital. To the incomer, sustainability defines the attractive economic options; to the women, any source of increased income is welcome, however exploitative and insecure. To the incomer, it is apparent that the 'grass revolution' and government policy together require these women to rethink their lives. To the women, all this appears surmountable, while the real problems are those of domestic violence, marital rape and male alcoholism: one woman's voice is represented at length. Who, it is asked, defines a research agenda in the search for a solution to the problems of these localities? What coalition can there be between the centralised knowledge of the vast land settlement literature, the academic visiting these localities and those who are ''living this whole thing''?