Social Capital and Disasters. Facing Natural Hazards in the Nahua Sierra-Costa in Michoacan, Mexico

The recurring impact of hydro-meteorological hazards in Michoacan’s Sierra-Costa region has caused damage and loss to Nahua communities in this zone. This is a social group whose vulnerability is caused by its limited development options, the pressures due to economic interests over their resources and territory, and by the little governmental support for prevention, mitigation, and attention to emergencies. Through qualitative research methods, we documented the elements that constitute social capital of three communities, as well as the ways in which capacities to manage hydro-meteorological risks are strengthened. Among the strategies locally recognized to face risk the following stand out traditional community organization; strategies for physical mobility and access to the territory; and internal relations and relations with key external actors. Drawing on these elements, communities resist and recover losses due to hydro-meteorological hazards, minimizing the institutional void for risk mitigation and attention to emergencies. Governmental actions for risk management are carried on with no incorporation of local institutions and presuming the subordination of communities, which undermines community-estate relations and community social capital. We consider it essential to create civil protection protocols that adapt to the communities’ organizational dynamics and to community capacities. This is of utmost importance, because the recognition of community social capital, which is created drawing on the distinct ways of inhabiting the territory, influences directly on capacities to reduce vulnerability and to manage risks.