Sembrando Vida Program and the features of rural marginalization in the Rarámuri region of El Cuervo, Chihuahua

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present a sociodemographic analysis of the Rarámuri communities in the region of El Cuervo, municipality of Batopilas in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, to demonstrate the specific features of rural marginalization. The data used in this analysis was obtained from the population that has benefited from the federal government's Sembrando Vida program. The study encompasses the localities of Noyna, Cordón Colorado, Norihui, Baquireachi, Ejido Yoquivo, and El Cuervo, which exhibit one of the highest levels of marginalization in the country and are identified as priority areas for government intervention in the fight against rural poverty. The analysis is based on data obtained from applying the program's initial questionnaire, which involved interviews with 168 individuals. The questionnaire analytically describes nine socio-demographic concepts that illustrate the significant social backwardness of these communities. These concepts include identity and language, schooling, family size, age of members, housing materials, water, sanitation, electricity and fuel services, occupation, income, and expenses. The data illustrate the extreme poverty conditions of the families who only speak Rarámuri, have severe illiteracy, lack access to drinking water, toilets, and electricity, depend entirely on modest agricultural production, and have very little income that is used entirely for basic expenses. Evaluation is, therefore, indispensable.