Access to land and transformations in cacao cultivation: An intergenerational analysis

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35588/35sc6h66

Keywords:

land uses, agricultural land, rural development, genealogy, cocoa

Abstract

Cocoa has been fundamental to Mexican culture since ancient times; however, in recent years, cocoa production in Mexico has declined, as evidenced by the reduction in cultivated areas. Access to land is crucial for rural household groups in southeastern Mexico, making it important to understand its relationship with transformations in cocoa-related activities over time. This article analyzes land access and its connection to changes in cocoa production activities across two parental groups, spanning five generations. The data were collected through genealogical and ethnographic methods during fieldwork periods between 2021 and 2024. The results show that bilateral inheritance is the primary means of land access. The process of land fragmentation reduces the available land for current rural domestic groups, which is linked to changes in productive activities related to cocoa. Agricultural activities are losing relevance, and livelihood strategies are shifting away from farming and cocoa production.

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Author Biographies

  • Russell Sántiz Tovilla, The College of the Southern Border

    Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas (UNACH), Faculty of Social Sciences, Campus III; Master of Science in Natural Resources and Rural Development from El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR); currently a fourth-year doctoral student in the Science program in Ecology and Sustainable Development with a focus on Agroecology and Society at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. Member of the Chiapas State Research System. Their research focuses on the reproduction and social organization of rural households or farming families engaged in traditional agricultural activities. Their work emphasizes the analysis of these processes and how certain elements or categories relate to the persistence or abandonment of cocoa-related activities. Additionally, their research covers the production, processing, and commercialization of cocoa, as well as the study of value chains, always from a sociocultural perspective.

  • Eduardo Bello Baltazar, The College of the Southern Border

    Eduardo Bello Baltazar is an Agricultural Engineer from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, with a Master’s degree in Agricultural Sciences from the Colegio de Posgraduados and a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the Universidad Iberoamericana. His academic background integrates disciplines from both the natural and social sciences, allowing him to approach the relationship between society and nature from an interdisciplinary perspective.

    His research focuses on the social implications of natural resource management, emphasizing topics such as social organization and territory, community and forest management plans (ecotourism, forestry, non-timber products), rituality and social networks, as well as laws and local regulations.

  • Erín Ingrid Jane Estrada Lugo, The College of the Southern Border

    Dr. Erin I. J. Estrada Lugo is a Senior Researcher ("C") and a member of the National System of Researchers (SNI) Level II. Her work specializes in social organization, kinship, food practices, and the use of natural resources in indigenous peasant societies.

    She holds a Biology degree from ENEP-Iztacala, UNAM, where she began studying the relationship between humans, society, and nature in their cultural, temporal, and spatial dimensions. She completed a Master’s degree at the Colegio de Postgraduados, where, under the supervision of Dr. Efraím Hernández Xolocotzi, she developed an innovative field: 16th-century botanical ethnohistory in Mesoamerica. Her thesis, El Códice Florentino: Su información etnobotánica, received Honorable Mention in the “Efraím Hernández Xolocotzi” competition and won the XXX Anniversary Commemorative Program Award at the Colegio de Postgraduados. As a researcher under Dr. Xolocotzi (1988-1991), she studied traditional agricultural systems in Mexico.

    Later, her perspective was enriched by social theory during her Ph.D. in Social Anthropology at UIA, under the guidance of Dr. David Robichaux. Her dissertation, Grupo doméstico y usos del parentesco entre los mayas macehuales del Centro de Quintana Roo: El caso del Ejido Xhazil y Anexos, received Honorable Mention for the best Ph.D. thesis of 2005 at UIA.

    Her research areas include social organization and land appropriation in natural resource management, family and kinship, local norms and Maya customary law, local cuisine and food practices, social networks, rituality and natural resources, ethnobotany and ethnoecology, and traditional agricultural systems.

    She is currently part of the Department of Agriculture, Society, and Environment, within the Socio-environmental Studies and Territorial Management Group, at Unidad San Cristóbal.

  • Adriana Alicia Quiroga Carapia, The College of the Southern Border

    Dr. Adriana Alicia Quiroga Carapia is a Tenured Technical Specialist "C" at the San Cristóbal Unit. Her academic background includes studies in Administrative Sciences, a Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences, a Master's degree in Rural Development and Natural Resource Management, and she is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Administrative Sciences at UNAM.

    Throughout her professional career, she has focused on technology management and socio-environmental innovation processes in Mexico’s southern border region. Her work stands out for its interdisciplinary perspective, aimed at developing projects and building collaborative networks.

    Her areas of expertise include social enterprises, social technologies, innovation, and knowledge flow for the development of innovations, with an emphasis on technology transfer. Additionally, she has developed and implemented methodologies for strategic planning, program and project design, and evaluation. The approaches that guide her work include the Impact-Oriented Logical Framework, Livelihood Analysis, and Experience Systematization.

  • Obeimar Balente Herrera Hernández, The College of the Southern Border

    Dr. Obeimar Balente Herrera is a Principal Researcher "A" and a Level I member of the National System of Researchers (SNI). His work specializes in livelihoods, coffee-growing territories, and socio-environmental innovations.

    He holds a degree in Agroecology Engineering and a Master's in Regional Rural Development from the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo. He also earned a Ph.D. in Planning and Management of Sustainable Rural Development Projects from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. His academic and professional work focuses on community and regional development, collaborating with various social, productive, and governmental organizations to strengthen local human capacities. In recent years, he has deepened his research on territorial development and innovation.

    He is currently part of the Department of Agriculture, Society, and Environment in the Socio-Environmental Studies and Territorial Management Group at the San Cristóbal Unit.

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Published

2026-04-30

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 39 (2026)

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Russell Sántiz-Tovilla, Eduardo Bello Baltazar, Erin I. J. Estrada Lugo, Adriana Alicia Quiroga Carapia, Obeimar Balente Herrera Hernández

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.