Institutions réciprocitaires et projets productifs dans les communautés totonaques (Mexique): Sociabilité communautaire vs. intérêt matériel ? ou l’action collective comme le troisième terme d’une fausse opposition

The subordination in value of economic practices within social norms is a central feature of the social reproduction of Totonac peasant society. This is revealed through the principles of reciprocity towards the divinities and within ritualised work exchange at the founding of the “production of society”. Increasing political competition between different rural development projects and the associated collective actions stand in tension with these norms of sociability. Yet, by distinguishing different levels and settings of social link (village community, territorial community, work exchange systems, etc.), the aim of this article is to show how the internal fragmentation and the competing collective actions rather constitute the conditions for a redefinition of sociability within a quest for a relative autonomy through the access to external resources. Hence, material interests do create tensions but at the same time are vectors of a complementarity between collective actions and redefinition of the social cohesion.