Understanding Collective Action from Mexican Fishers’ Discourses: How Fishers Articulate the Need for the State Support and Self-Governance Capabilities

In this study we examine how fishers negotiate the tensions and tradeoffs between self-governance and reliance on the state. We address this question using the case of cooperative fishers in Mexico, where the government has historically acted as benefactor to local communities while also positioning itself as the key actor holding the capacity to solve governance problems. We found that framings regarding the scale of the problem influence arguments about when the government should take responsibility and when fishers should be given autonomy. For Mexican cooperativist fishers, the intervention of the state is fundamental for many issues, particularly for problems that transcend fishers’ capacity for action. To better understand how fishers articulate their responsibilities and those of the government in fisheries management, we designed a participatory methodological approach that allowed fishers the opportunity to articulate and prioritize their own needs and concerns. In the space created through our methodology, fishers were also able to reflect about what might be viable policies and interventions for effective fisheries governance on a national scale. Through the act of speech, fishers performed their own understandings of governance processes and at the same time proposed new institutional arrangements and collective governance strategies, while identifying roles that the state should play in nested, multi-level governance. Insights of this study contribute to the discussions about the value of examining the discursive practices as part of politicized performances that actors use to express policy preferences.