Resumen

OVIES, Diego Hannqn. Psilocybin mushrooms as biocultural heritage and their potential for local development in the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca. Perspectiva Geográfica [online]. 2021, vol.26, n.2, pp.37-53.  Epub 10-Feb-2022. ISSN 0123-3769.  https://doi.org/10.19053/01233769.12400.

Despite the fundamental role played by psilocybin mushrooms in traditional indigenous medicine in Mexico since time immemorial, their institutional neglect and their illegal status make it impossible to deploy conservation, research and exploitation schemes for this endogenous biocultural resource. Starting from the conceptual paradigm of bioculturality and from the socio-territorial approach of local development, this article presents a discussion on the potential of psilocybin mushrooms to become a biocultural heritage in Mexico and to favor local development in the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca. The article is methodologically based on a documentary and ethnographic research to highlight the biocultural value and therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms in order to propose their institutional and scientific recognition at the national level. The results indicate that the Mazateca community recognizes the endogenous potential of psilocybin mushrooms and favors their tourist use. However, the absence of community capacities for cohesive cooperation inhibits the articulation of regional conservation and development strategies. The final reflection proposes that the dynamization of visionary plants through biocultural conservation schemes and responsible tourism use can contribute to poverty alleviation in indigenous regions.

Palabras clave : local development; psilocybin mushrooms; mazatecas; biocultural heritage.

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