Dissertation Research: Collective Action and Popular Culture in Urban Mexico

这个项目涉及一名来自纽约大学的人类学学生在墨西哥城下层社区学习政治领导力的论文研究。该项目将专注于领导风格的转变，从为追随者提供普遍支持的老式‘cacique’或强人风格，转变为更当代的、以狭隘问题为导向的集体行动领导人。利用对集体民众运动领导人和参与者的深入采访，对社会运动的参与者观察，地方运动的口头历史，以及对两个社区的调查，学生将检验这样一种假设，即官方革命制度党失去政治控制权与地方政治领导风格从强人转变为民众领袖有关。这项研究很重要，因为它将促进我们对我们近邻国家的首都如何解决当地问题的理解。墨西哥正在经历快速的政治变革，这个项目将揭示这种变化是如何在工人阶级社区的街道上实现的。社会科学家和政策制定者将对这些信息感兴趣，他们需要了解墨西哥政府制定具体政策的原因。

This project involves the dissertation research of an anthropology student from New York University studying political leadership in a Mexico City lower class neighborhood. The project will focus on the change of leadership style from the old-fashioned `cacique` or strong-man style who provides generalized support to followers, to a more contemporary narrowly-focused issues-oriented leader of collective action. Using in-depth interviews of leaders and actors in collective popular movements , participant-observation of social movements, oral histories of local movements, and a survey of two neighborhoods the student will test the hypothesis that the loss of political control by the official PRI party is associated with a changeover in local political leadership style from strong-man to popular leader. This research is important because is will advance our understanding of how local issues are resolved in the capital city of our close neighboring country. Mexico is undergoing rapid political change, and this project will shed light on how that change is being lived out on the streets of working class neighborhoods. The information will be of interest to social scientists as well as policy makers who need to understand why the Mexican government institutes specific policies.