Zapotec innovation in a Mexican village: Building an autonomous mobile network |
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| Authors: | ROBERTO J GONZÁLEZ |
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| Institution: | Chair of the anthropology department at San José State University. He has authored several books including Zapotec science: Farming and food in the northern sierra of Oaxaca (2001) and Militarizing culture: Essays on the warfare state (2010). His most recent book is the co‐edited volume Up, down, and sideways: Anthropologists trace the pathways of power (2014). |
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| Abstract: | In 2013, a Zapotec village in the Mexican state of Oaxaca drew international attention when its citizens successfully created an autonomous mobile phone network. Using open‐source software and with technical assistance from an NGO (non‐governmental organization), the people of Talea de Castro obtained antennae, a base station and software that enabled them to build a fully functional mobile network with global reach. This article examines theoretical questions about the nature of innovation and the conditions that might help promote it. It also places the network in broad historical and social contexts. The article reviews the political, legal and technical processes by which villagers were able to create the network. For many years, Talea has been a centre of technological creativity and experimentation. The network might be seen as the village's latest innovation in a centuries‐long process in which creative problem‐solving is integrated with indigenous patterns of mutual aid, reciprocal labour and cooperativism. The article concludes with a discussion of the challenges facing the network and its users. |
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