Noesis. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities

Women’s participation in anti-extractivist struggles in Mexico: Analysis of seven mining conflicts

2025-08-14T08:53:41-06:00

Objective: to analyze Mexican women’s participation in mobilizations against mining extractivism by answering the following questions: what are women’s positions on the impacts of mining? What spaces are more favorable to their participation? How do they participate? What obstacles do they face while doing so? Methodology: 556 questionnaires applied in 13 communities affected by seven mining conflicts, 10 participatory workshops, interviews with key informants. Results: 1) between 68.2% and 78.1% of women perceive problems associated with mining, the more important ones being water scarcity and pollution, and conflicts within families. 2) Women are more likely to participate in community and municipal organizations in contrast with those operating at regional and state levels. 3) Female participation ranges from 12.9-26.9% depending on the context. 4) Major obstacles include lack of time, resources, mobility and precarious health. Conclusions: female presence in anti-mining movements is low because organizations are insensitive to their leadership and concerns. Efforts must be increased to render visible their gender-specific problems and place them at the center of the struggle.

Geographies of care in Hermosillo, Mexico

2025-08-26T08:51:55-06:00

Planning cities that prioritize care require empirical data and precise assessments to make care work visible within the urban environment. This study aims to assess the extent to which the urban infrastructure of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, can address the care needs of its population. A methodological approach was developed based on the construction of synthetic indices designed to capture both the supply and demand of care infrastructure. These indices were integrated into a composite Care Index, enabling the analysis of dependency and spatial heterogeneity at the intraurban scale. The findings reveal a clear spatial mismatch between supply and demand of care infrastructure across the city, with the urban configuration significantly shaping the location, extent, and intensity of care services. Based on levels of care infrastructure capacity and burden, the study identifies priority areas that require public policies oriented toward the defamilialization of care, which advocates shifting from informal, family-based care structures toward institutional and community-based support systems. By guiding urban growth toward more equitable models, this research underscores the public and social dimensions of care work—traditionally relegated to the private and domestic sphere—and contributes to advancing the framework of caring city planning.

Water consumption in the primary sector in Mexico, 2003-2018. An agri-food chain approach

2026-01-27T13:04:12-07:00

The objective of this research is to analyze water consumption in the primary sector in Mexico. To this end, using an economic and ecological accounting analysis and the series of annual matrices from 2003 to 2018 from the INEGI's Experimental Statistics Program, the direct and indirect water consumption of the primary sector is quantified from an agri-food chain perspective. By 2018, primary sector products destined to satisfy final demand (fresh, unprocessed foods) accounted for 53% of the total water consumed directly in the production of this sector; while products for final consumption in the manufacturing industry (processed foods), by requiring intermediate inputs from the primary sector, represented 45% of the water consumed directly in the production of this sector. The food industry represents the largest indirect consumer of water in the manufacturing sector. The amount of water incorporated into the final products of this sector remained unchanged during the period 2003-2018. In contrast, the water incorporated in unprocessed fresh products intended mainly for external markets (exports) has increased.

The effect of psychological distress and workplace harassment on self-esteem among higher education employees in Puerto Vallarta, México

2026-03-18T09:15:59-06:00

In the context of labor precarization within higher education institutions in Latin America, psychological distress and workplace bullying emerge as significant psychosocial risks that impact the well-being of university staff. In this scenario, self-esteem functions as a key protective resource for mental health preservation. The objectives of this study were: (1) to analyze the relationship between self-esteem, psychological distress, and workplace bullying; (2) to assess the influence of sociodemographic variables and psychosocial risks on self-esteem; and (3) to determine their causal effect and predictive capacity. This was a cross-sectional quantitative study involving 400 university employees in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. Pearson correlation analyses, binary logistic regression, and linear regression were conducted. Results indicated that psychological distress had a negative and significant correlation with self-esteem and was the only significant predictor in both regression models. Although workplace bullying was correlated with both psychological distress and self-esteem, it did not directly predict self-esteem. Additionally, sociodemographic variables did not show statistically significant effects on self-esteem. It is concluded that psychological distress is the main factor associated with and predictive of self-esteem among university personnel. Therefore, it is recommended to implement programs focused on preventing and addressing psychological distress, as well as strategies for emotional support and the promotion of healthy work environments, including bullying prevention and improved working conditions.

Interaction rituals in contexts of violence: healing dolls as discursive materializations of pain and struggle in Veracruz, Mexico

2026-02-24T08:40:45-07:00

Since 2006, Mexico has experienced several cycles of criminal violence at the subnational level that have affected different actors and social groups. Among the many forms of violence in the country, the disappearance of persons is an extreme and repeated practice to which institutional responses have been insufficient. In this context, the state of Veracruz has repeatedly ranked among the entities with the highest number of reported cases. Faced with this human rights crisis, search groups for missing persons have become central actors in the struggle for memory, truth, and justice. This article aims to reflect on some of the practices carried out by the Orizaba-Cordoba Collective of Families of the Disappeared, with a special focus on the first ritual of healing dolls (small cloth figures made from the clothes of the disappeared) that are given to the mothers, sisters, and wives of the collective. The analysis is grounded on emotion theory, discourse studies, and a model of interaction rituals. From a qualitative methodology with an ethnographic approach and critical discourse analysis, the article shows how, in these types of processes marked by loss and pain, these interaction rituals enable the actors to reconfigure their emotions, strengthen emotional bonds and moral commitments, and generate the emotional energy necessary to sustain the search for their loved ones.