State selectivities in Mexico's 4th transformation: Indigenous consultation in the San José Mining Project, Oaxaca, Mexico

The role of the state in social participation related to extractive projects in Latin America is relevant topic for political ecologists, because it intervenes and shapes the relationship between society and nature. The state is often accused of having an extractivist bias. Even self-described post-neoliberal governments of the so-called 'Pink Tide' relied on the extractive sectors to generate public rents during a period of high-priced commodities. However, in Mexico, it is puzzling that Indigenous people were largely excluded from debate during the 4th Transformation (2018-2024), despite the state treasury being far less dependent on the mining sector at that time, and the legal framework for FPIC had been reformed by progressive forces. Strategic relational approaches (SRA) provide a nuanced analysis of the state and state-society relations that adds further insights to unravel this puzzle, although they have only rarely found their way into political-ecological research. This article reveals state selectivity with regard to mining, hindering genuine Indigenous participation, in the case of the San José mining project, where the project EIA was negotiated and renewed. While such regulations are intended to empower Indigenous communities, the contradicting agendas of state actors and bureaucratic constraints undermined these efforts, reflecting broader challenges of post-neoliberal state transformation in Latin America. This case contributes to the literature on state-society relations by illustrating the tensions between progressive mining policies and their exclusive and asymmetrical implementation.