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 towns, 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 have interacted with local political conflicts between the town of Hueyapan and the municipal seat, 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 in which demanding independence is feasible, because it has successfully established itself as a competitor to the municipal cabecera (municipal seat) community of Tetela, rather than as a subordinate and marginalized community. Nevertheless, by framing the quest for independence within the narrative model of indigeneity, Hueyapan can represent its demands with a stronger ethical and historical force than it could otherwise.

中文翻译：

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成为自治：墨西哥多元文化中的土著，规模和地震发生

墨西哥莫雷洛斯州的四个城镇正在游说州政府，要求其有权根据当地习惯法成为独立的“土著城市”。本文着眼于这些城镇之一的韦亚潘，从人种学和民族历史方面考察了导致韦亚潘人民压倒性地赞成选择市政独立的决定的过程。在这样做的过程中，它特别关注土著和主权话语与惠亚潘镇与市政所在地泰特拉·德尔沃尔坎之间的当地政治冲突的相互作用方式。通过基于贝特森（Bateson）的地震发生概念的分析，我认为，今天，韦亚潘（Hueyapan）首次处于要求独立的可行性，因为它已成功地成为泰特拉市政市政厅（市政所在地）社区的竞争者，而不是从属和边缘化社区。然而，通过在本土化的叙事模式中寻求独立，休亚潘可以以比以往更强大的道德和历史力量来代表其诉求。