Abstract

ARIAS-YERO, Iliana; GUEVARA-HERNANDEZ, Francisco; LA O-ARIAS, Manuel A.  and  VILLEGAS-CHADEZ, Rubén. Characterization of tangible capitals in family production units with local maize cultivars in Chiapas, Mexico. Universidad y Sociedad [online]. 2023, vol.15, n.6, pp. 446-455.  Epub Dec 10, 2023. ISSN 2218-3620.

Local maize in Frailesca, Chiapas state, Mexico, is preferably conserved by Family Production Units (UPF), which are associated with a rural way of life. These FPUs articulate the capitals they possess, among which the tangible ones (natural, physical and financial-productive) stand out to guarantee their social reproduction. The objective of the study was to characterize, from a socio-productive perspective, the natural, physical and financial-productive capitals of the UPFs that grow local maize in four municipalities of the Frailesca region, Chiapas. The Sustainable Ways of Life (MVS) approach was used. The information was collected through semi-structured interviews and participant observation and analyzed using exploratory multivariate statistical techniques. Among the results, it was found that the cultivation of local maize is carried out on a small scale, under temporary conditions, and in 67.5% of the UPFs studied, at least one crop is associated with it. It is concluded that the FPUs that grow local maize are diverse in terms of the availability of natural, physical and financial capital, which complement and mutually affect each other in the process of shaping the strategies of social reproduction and conservation of the local maize germplasm.

Keywords : capitals; local maize; families; social reproduction strategies.