Between Migration and Displacement: the case of Environmentally Displaced Persons in Mexico.

This work analyses internal displacements in Mexico related to environmental challenges and degradation exacerbated by mining corporations and state megaprojects for development. The focus is on indigenous women who are multiple victims of gender, economic issues, and ethnoviolence. The disruption of the environment, access to natural resources, and land dispossession affect the sociocultural fabric of indigenous communities, facilitating the formation of organised crime organisations and accelerating displacement processes. Environmental displacement is essentially also the loss of culture and knowledge since the cosmovision of these indigenous communities considers the environment to be sacred and linked to their existence. This provision first discusses the pertinence of the decolonial and indigenous feminist approach of cuerpo-territorio. Then, an account of internal displacement in Mexico is provided with a focus on the intersection of environmental, climate change, and violence. A brief panorama of indigeneity in Mexico is also presented, showing the sociocultural relevance of the southern states. Lastly, this chapter analyses two cases of internal environmental displacement, the case of the state of Guerrero and gold mining and the case of the newly Tren Maya, whose early testimonies show the potential to cause major internal environmental displacements in the near future.