La conservación biocultural del chile criollo y tres lomos (Capsicum annuum var. annuum) en Colipa y Yecuatla, Veracruz (México): una lectura desde las subjetividades campesinas

In Mexico, local varieties of Capsicum annuum var. annuum are rapidly declining in productivity. In this context, this study examines the role of peasant subjectivities in the biocultural conservation of the criollo and “tres lomos” chili peppers in the municipalities of Colipa and Yecuatla, Veracruz, Mexico. By adopting this approach, the study transcends economic, climatic, and market limitations. The research was conducted between March 2023 and August 2025 using ethnographic methods, including participant observation and in-depth interviews with farmers, cooks, and other stakeholders involved in the traditional cultivation and processing of dried chili peppers. The analysis is framed within anthropological perspectives on subjectivity, focusing on the historically situated ways of feeling, thinking, and acting that guide decisions about territory and biocultural resources. The ethnographic analysis revealed three central subjective dimensions: first, formative childhood experiences associated with agricultural work, which generate intergenerational attachment to the care of native seeds; second, the recognition and validation of chili peppers by actors outside the community as an agricultural product of great affective and commercial value; and third, the affective and symbolic relationships that families build directly with chili peppers, perceiving them as active subjects in their social world. These subjectivities sustain local seed circuits, selection practices, and identity-based consumption, even in adverse contexts. The results show that biocultural conservation cannot be explained solely by ecological or economic factors but is profoundly mediated by subjective configurations that articulate memory, emotions, and processes of social recognition. Integrating the analysis of subjectivity into territorially situated conservation strategies helps explain not only the practices surrounding biocultural resources but also the meanings and values ​​that sustain their continuity over time.