Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2023

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Abstract

This article employs a long-term historical and anthropological perspective to examine questions of resilience through a case study of Cabo Pulmo, BCS, Mexico. Using the recent COVID-19 crisis as a starting point, this article discusses the crises, shocks, booms, and busts that have affected and shaped the people, landscapes, and ecologies of the coastline that now includes Cabo Pulmo. While the community of Cabo Pulmo has been able to withstand several crises and disruptions, and could be considered “resilient” in many senses, I argue that this resilience is ongoing and conditional. Furthermore, the production of this resilience in Cabo Pulmo is highly contingent upon a strategic politics, enacted by the local community, that establishes, protects, and maintains claims to both land and place. Resilience, I argue, can be seen as an ongoing politics and strategic positionality, rooted in historical relations and connections to place, that people seek to create, maintain, and deploy at various scales to mediate and resist periodic shocks, threats, and disruptions.

Comments

© 2023 The Authors. American Anthropologist published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Anthropological Association.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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