Wind energy, discourse, and indigenous social movements: the case of the APPJ in Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract

The development of wind projects in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, in the last few years has impacted on socio-cultural forms of the Zapotec indigenous communities of the region. In response to these wind projects, indigenous social movements have emerged to oppose private companies that have benefited from energy policy driven by the Mexican state. Based on the literature on critical theory of discourse and social movements, we analyze the resistance discourse of the Zapotec indigenous social movement of the Asamblea Popular del Pueblo Juchiteco (APPJ) in the municipality of Juchitán de Zaragoza, as a paradigmatic case of resistance to wind policies in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca.