The oldest black village in Mexico struggles with poverty and a harsh climate

Tecoyame, considered the oldest black village in Mexico, struggles with poverty and the existential threat posed by extreme climate change.

Located in town of Oaxaca, the village is a component of the Costa Chica region, a 250-kilometer stretch along the Pacific Ocean that’s home to many Afro-Mexicans. According to , in recent years were characterised by longer and more intense dry seasons, causing severe droughts that left the land and neighboring towns dry and cracked. Hardened soil is unable to soak up rainfall during Mexico’s rainy season, causing water to flow over the concrete surface, damaging the foundations of rural homes.

“Our house is the last of its kind in this place,” said resident Don Amado, who grew up in the village with his mother, the enduring “El Redondo” house of “Cointa” Chavez Velazco’s mother. “But it may not happen next year. There is no support to help us and no money to sustain it as the climate becomes more extreme and more threatening to us.”

This situation goes beyond Tecoyame. In Cuajinicuilapa, a city north of Tecoyame where 75% of the population is Afro-Mexican, the first-of-its-kind museum of Afro-Mexican history has been unable to pay its employees for 15 years and is facing closure. Abad Campos Rodriguez, a leading dance and music teacher, fears that the Danza de los Diablos, a cultural tradition, “will not continue for the next generation” of kids.

With each rainless day, fruit and vegetable crops that profit 4 generations of families are in danger as climatic conditions worsen, increasing the necessity for financial assistance. Institutions that when provided protection against Spanish slave traders are also on the snapping point.

The crisis has its origins in the social and economic marginalization of communities. In 2015, the federal government census allowed Black people to self-identify as Afro-Mexicans, and 4 years later, a constitutional amendment added Afro-Mexicans to the list of 69 distinct cultural identities. The natives are currently pinning their hopes on the June presidential elections, in which Mexican Governor Claudia Sheinbaum might be the favourite, which is able to bring the long-awaited help.

Last September, the YouTube lifestyle channel explored the Black community in Mexico, from Cuajinicuilapa to Danza de Diablos, delving into the culture.