SPATIAL JUSTICE IN PUNTA DE MITA, NAYARIT MEXICO: THE RESULT OF A TOURISM POLICY

Abstract

The formation of the Punta de Mita area in Banderas Bay, Nayarit Mexico has been subordinated to public policy decisions focused on large-scale tourism development. Punta de Mita and, in general, the municipality of Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, have been developed in the industrial tourist activity, through the "poles of development" models. According to official reports, during the last two years the sector has grown up to 167%, which greatly affects the way in which the inhabitants live their territory and access goods and services. Based on the above, the objective of the research is to determine through a scale-type instrument the consideration of the inhabitants of Punta de Mita on the existence of spatial justice in their locality. The results are related to the ways in which injustices are manifested from the implementation of tourism policies in Punta de Mita, Nayarit as part of the process of development and urban social production. The theoretical foundation of the research is the main conceptual discussions around spatial justice and public policy analysis, that is, the exploration of the relationship between the space produced and the economic-political life of the territory under study. As a fundamental methodological element, a spatial justice index was developed based on 4 fundamental variables 1) access to goods and services of the population 2) relations of the population with the socio-political environment 3) attention to demands and institutional provision 4) socio-economic characteristics of the population. The results indicate the existence of spatial injustice in Punta de Mita Nayarit seen as the difference in the opportunities to live the shared urban space; while some people enjoy the resources, infrastructure and security guarantees, others suffer the consequences of inhabiting a large-scale tourist environment, varying their activities in search of survival. Spatial justice is proposed as a central element in the consideration of development policy design, since development planning should not only consider economic elements and growth in competitiveness as a destination, but also consider socio-spatial elements to achieve fairer conditions for the inhabitants of Punta de Mita.