¿Se puede tener un futuro?: Imaginarios del porvenir en contextos de precariedad y violencia

The future can be conceived as a social imaginary that condenses and mobilizes a large number of beliefs, aspirations, fears, images, as well as individual and collective values. Although there are hegemonic future imaginaries, mediatized (expressed in films and series, or novels, but also in advertising), there are social imaginaries that stem from concrete realities, from experiences, and assumption or learning of values and attitudes. The imaginary of the future that surrounds a group of environmentalists is not the same as the one that is consolidated from the perspective of entrepreneurs, or politicians; it’s not the same if it is developed in societies with high socioeconomic levels than in precarious, poor and insecure environments. In the case of some young people from the municipality of Chimalhuacan, State of Mexico, through a focus group and conceptual maps, traces and elements of an imaginary of the future were found that expresses fears and concerns related to their context, and not to a distant imagined scenario. Values linked to modernity and development prevail, and the responsibility of the person for his/her own future becomes relevant. In this context of precariousness and violence, the possibilities of building life projects with freedom are reduced and the imagination is limited. The desired future is one in which professionals (educated and with a job) improve their lives and that of their community. It would seem then that this is the future that they can be "had".