Producing Mayaland
"Producing Mayaland powerfully captures the extent to which the
abstract spaces of global capital are infused with colonial fantasies,
haunted by uncanny ruins, and plagued by monstrous manifestations of
ecological breakdown. Through a compelling account of the maquiladora
industry in the Yucatan Peninsula, Claudia Fonseca Alfaro vividly
conveys the inextricable entanglements of the capitalist production of
space and the coloniality of power."
--Japhy Wilson, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester,
UK
"In Producing Mayaland, Claudia Fonseca Alfaro finds a unique voice to
narrate the contested relations between everyday life, urbanization and
the uneven development of capitalism in Motul, Yucatán, Mexico. The
remarkable insights of this work emerge from her innovative synthesis of
critical urban theory, anticolonialism and 'magical realism'-- all
grounded in an imaginative appropriation of Henri Lefebvre's oeuvre on
the production of space."
-- Kanishka Goonewardena, Professor of Geography and Planning,
University of Toronto
Critical urban theory and postcolonial approaches are brought together
in this compelling book to explore the relationship between colonial
legacies, urbanization, and global capitalism in southern Mexico.
Producing Mayaland investigates the boom-to-bust story of maquiladoras
in the state of Yucatán to shed light on how the built environment was
shaped by discourse, imaginaries, and everyday practices. In making
sense of this social production of space, the author examines
infrastructure constructed to support the maquiladora project and traces
the attempts of the state to portray Yucatán as an exotic and
business-friendly maquiladora paradise. These practices stand in
contrast to the livelihood strategies and life stories of maquiladora
workers and residents. Carefully weaving geography, history, and
ethnography, the author draws on a wide range of sources to illustrate a
central tension in capitalism: its tendency to homogenize while thriving
in differentiation. With important insights into an understudied
location, Producing Mayaland urges us to understand urbanization in
the global South in new ways.
