« Rituel du chaos ». Stabiliser un espace-temps politique dans une ville en perpétuel mouvement

Abstract

Based on an ethnography of a countercultural street market (Tianguis cultural del Chopo), this paper explores how networked and reticular forms of political engagement sedimented since the market began to occupy the street some forty years ago. How to understand the effects of cultural practices on the relationship to space, the longue durée of territorial constructions and the construction of political subjectivity? How did this countercultural space-time appear in Mexico City and what does it mean for our understanding of the political in a city where popular culture plays an important political role? These are the questions that guide this paper. Data was collected through an ethnographic approach (participant observations, life story interviews, participatory oral history).We first explain why we have chosen to focus on popular culture in order to study politics. Secondly, through a historical and ethnographic description of the Chopo since 1982, we analyse the relationship between lifestyle changes between 1982 and 2019 and the transformation of modalities of engagement. In conclusion, we propose some theoretical reflections on political action and the relationship to space, time and rationalities in an urban world. Indeed, the Chopo brings together individuals connected to a flow of information, through the temporary occupation of urban space. Weekly co-presence in the street is fundamental to this network, especially for its experiential and affective aspects. This is precisely what generates political subjectivity. While the effects of this type of political engagement are difficult to measure in the sense that no clear demands are made on the government, it is with a more ethnographic sensitivity that we can analyze lifestyle transformations engendered by these transgressive cultural practices. If we measure politics by the institutional distribution of power and resources, the temporary occupation of the street every Saturday could not be called politics. If, on the other hand, our measurement of politics focuses on transformations in subjectivities and ways of living, the Chopo has palpable effects, especially in terms of empowerment and the ability to express difference.

Keywords

• political engagement
• street occupation
• counterculture
• networked space
• Mexico City