Four towns in the state of Morelos, Mexico, are lobbying the state
government for the right to become independent “indigenous
municipalities” operating under local customary law. Focusing on one of
those five towns, that of Hueyapan, this article ethnographically and
ethnohistorically examines the process that has led the people of Hueyapan
to overwhelmingly favor the decision to opt for municipal independence. In
doing so it attends particularly to the ways that discourses of indigeneity
and sovereignty has interacted with local political conflicts between the
town of Hueyapan and the municipal seat, the Tetela del Volcán. Using an
analysis based on Bateson’s concept of schismogenesis, I argue that today
for the first time, Hueyapan is in a position where demanding
independence is feasible, because as a consequence of local economic
development it has successfully established itself as a competitor to the
municipal cabecera community of Tetela, rather than as a subordinate and
marginalized community. Nevertheless, by framing the quest for
independence within the narrative model of indigeneity and colonial
oppression, Hueyapan is able to represent its demands with a stronger
ethical and historical force than it could otherwise.