Socioeconomic vulnerability of the peasantry in the Llanos de Durango, Mexico

Abstract

Objective: To learn from the viewpoint of rainfed bean producers in northern Mexico about their socioeconomic dynamics and to identify the factors that affect their vulnerability, taking the Llanos region in the State of Durango as a reference. Methodology: The research was approached from a qualitative approach using the phenomenological method, employing the in-depth interview technique, the informants were men and women dedicated to bean production. Results: From the analysis of the interviews, the following five categories related to peasant vulnerability in the Durango plains were generated: low profitability, socio-productive fragility, modifications in the social structure, lack of opportunities for better living conditions and government participation, of which socio-productive fragility emerged as the central phenomenological category. Limitations: Low participation of peasant women in contrast to the number of male informants. Conclusions: The socioeconomic dynamics followed by the peasantry of the Llanos de Durango throughout its history is a multifactorial phenomenon that has resulted in a series of conditions that pose a threat to the main livelihood of rural communities in the region, which could negatively influence in the long term the supply of staple foods such as beans.