| This history of urban movements focuses on the ways that the urban poor have gained access to land, coped with the lack of urban services, and organized themselves to better their neighborhoods. I argue that the formation of urban movements in Ajusco is best understood as a process of cultural emergence involving several historical events: the creation of the Mexican new left, the organization of alternative technology groups, and the implementation of urban planning policies. The data used in the dissertation includes interviews with leaders and participants of urban movements, document research (including urban zoning and development plans), unpublished materials, ethnographic observation and a collection of over 600 newspaper articles about urban politics in Ajusco. The thesis concludes by outlining changes in grassroots strategies and state policy towards irregular settlements in Ajusco from 1970 to 1987. |
