The Light of Ecotourism: the Social Production of Fireflies and the Traps of Neoliberal Faith

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Anales de Antropología Edición Especial 50 Aniversario del Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas 1973-2023
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Published: Nov 24, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22201/iia.24486221e.2023.85391

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Paola Velasco Santos
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Leonor Alejandra González Nava
Posgrado de Antropología, UNAM

Abstract

This article aims to analyze, from an ethnographic political ecology perspective, a small part of a multispecies network in order to understand how fireflies and human subjects have mutually produced themselves under particular cycles of accumulation and the eternal search for survival in rural Mexico. Based on ethnographic information collected from 2018 to 2022, we explore how in recent years, the different species of fireflies that cohabit the forests of Tlahuapan, Puebla, went from being a bug with little importance in the productive, symbolic and identity practices and narratives of the ejidatarios,to a central figure and the main character of the summer nights in the forests of the Sierra Nevada. We suggest that scientists, ejidatarios, tour guides, and local entrepreneurs have co-produced fireflies by depicting them as "first actresses" in a fictional stage, sponsored by conservation tourism and at the same time have constructed themselves as neoliberal subjects.

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How to Cite
Velasco Santos, P., & González Nava, L. A. (2023). The Light of Ecotourism: the Social Production of Fireflies and the Traps of Neoliberal Faith. Annals of Anthropology, 71–81. https://doi.org/10.22201/iia.24486221e.2023.85391

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