The openMovements series invites leading social scientists to share their research results and perspectives on contemporary social struggles.
Concejo Mayor de Gobierno Comunal. Authors' photographs.The struggle of Cherán is one of the most important emerging social movements of recent years in Mexico, both for its visibility and for the political, economic, social and cultural alternative that the community is building. It is a lively movement, with its campfires still burning, still fighting and resisting. Its experience has inspired indigenous communities throughout Mexico, who seek respect for their rights, territory, institutions and culture.
San Francisco Cherán, is an indigenous community of the Purépecha town located in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. It has a territorial extension of 221,000 square kilometers and a population of 14,245 inhabitants, making it the largest Purépecha community in terms of territory. It originally counted some 27,000 hectares of forest. The main economic activities are agriculture, livestock farming and the production of wood and cork products.
