Social appropriation of a federal area

Abstract

This article analyzes the process of community land reclamation in the context of the “Playa Gaviotas” tourism project, located in the municipality of Benito Juárez, Guerrero, Mexico. The research stems from the historical issues surrounding land tenure conflicts along the Mexican coast and the failure of private real estate projects in the 1980s. The objective was to document how the local community, through the formation of a Cooperative Society, achieved the recovery and management of a 3.2-kilometer coastal strip. Using qualitative methodology such as participant observation during the 2007–2020 period, supplemented by a literature review and the administration of 40 semi-structured interviews with residents and neighbors of the villages of Llano Real and Hacienda de Cabañas. The findings reveal that the social organization was decisive in transitioning from informal occupation to technical planning; they also demonstrate the strategic use of the Mexican legal framework to obtain the concession title for the Federal Maritime-Terrestrial Zone. Furthermore, they reveal an incipient development in which 22.22% of the occupied area is actively used for tourism, under a community management model that seeks to replicate regional success stories, transforming conflict into an opportunity for the local economy. It is concluded that the Right of First Refusal, exercised by the cooperative as the legitimate holder, allowed the consolidation of legal certainty regarding the appropriation