The Economic Structure Of The Mayan People After Fall Of Henequen

Cindy L. Hull continues her ethnography by explaining the economic structure of the Mayan people after the fall of henequen. She noted that within her research, she viewed the adaptations of the people as a great way to "emphasize the flexibility and resourcefulness" of the people (pg. 23). With the decline of the henequen production, the people had to resort to incorporate other forms of labor to provide for their families. As the book states, their families became "agents of both change and resistance" in order to continue living good lives (pg. 23). The main source of labor derived from agriculture. Men dominated this industry and the women focused their attention on the family and their home. The roles of the men and women both carried

Within these systems, there was a political structure. The main components of the ejidos were the socio delgado, the checador, and the consejo viligancia. The parcelas were privately owned, so it was run by the members of the family. The Yaxbe community was introduced to "two decorticating factories" that played a key role with henequen (pg. 27). Cordemex owned all of the factories in the area. It provided jobs for the people in Yaxbe, which gave them exceptional benefits, both monetarily and socially. Another type of "agricultural cycle" was the Milpa Cycle, which incorporated the crops of corn, beans, and squash (pg. 27). The similar political structure used in with henequen was applied here as well. There were some issues with this system. The environment of the Yaxbe was not ideal for milpa, so they had to move the crops around every year in order for the soil to recuperate from the damage of the crops. Also, henequen still dominated the crops, so the milpa was only considered to be the "primary occupation" of of "3% of the household heads" (pg.

She explained that the women would learn which stores carried items at the lowest price. They would send their children to the different stores to get the individual items. Even though this made the process take much longer, the women valued what they could save. Even when Hull bought bread and pastries for a family, they were not satisfied from where she bought the goods because she spent too much money. The business of hammock making was also very prominent in the area. This was dominated by women, who would teach the young girls at an early age. All of the people seemed to be very driven to establish their own type of business that could serve the people. The community continued to grow with the different businesses, and eventually owned televisions.
Within the towns, they had a few licensed cantinas that sold beer. For those who did not have the license, they could sell aguardiente. These bars were not opened during the day and the women did not visit them. This reveals a characteristic of their community values because it shows how women and men did carry certain roles and