Gabriel Mendoza Zárate*
Introduction: The Clash of Two Political Ontologies
We find ourselves today at a historic turning point where the debate centers not only on the viability of a highway infrastructure project, but also on the very persistence of ways of life that offer alternatives to the dominant model of civilization (Escobar, 2014). The Mexican government’s attempt to impose the San Cristóbal de las Casas–Palenque mega-highway in the state of Chiapas reveals the resurgence of a colonial and neo-extractivist political theology. Underlying this rationale is the dogma that land is an inert commodity and that human well-being is reduced to the accumulation of capital, thereby legitimizing the sacrifice of entire communities on the altar of modern development and linear progress.
In the face of this pattern of dispossession, the Movement in Defense of Life and Territory (Modevite)—composed primarily of Tseltal Maya communities—has organized a form of resistance that completely transcends the boundaries of conventional social protest (Mendoza Zárate, 2025; Rodríguez Petrova, 2025). This is not a short-term mobilization seeking corporatist privileges or financial compensation; rather, it is the manifestation of a decolonial eco-communal spirituality.
The foundation of this peaceful insurgency is a way of living in harmony with the world and, specifically, the experiential concept of lekil kuxlejal (or lekil kuxlejalil), which translates as “full life,” “good life,” or “dignified life.” The insight I wish to share is that Tseltal spirituality is not an introspective exercise in escapism or detachment from the world (fuga mundi), but rather an ethical-political and spiritual ontology deeply rooted in the territory. At stake in this conflict is not merely the survival of an ethnic group, but the continued relevance of a relational wisdom that offers indispensable keys to overcoming the widespread trend of civilizational collapse that humanity currently faces (Rodríguez Petrova, 2025).
I. The Lekil Kuxlejalil and the Relational Ontology of Territory
In Tseltal Maya thought, a fulfilling life is not measured by variables such as gross domestic product or the speed of the flow of goods. Lekil kuxlejalil represents a wisdom of the heart (López Intzín, 2015; Lenkersdorf, 2005; Ribera, 2021) that unifies the collective’s feelings, thoughts, and actions within a network of interdependence with the environment. This perspective contrasts with the Western dichotomy between nature and culture, establishing instead a relational ontology in which we can identify the following components:
1. Integral harmony (Slamalil k’inal) as the ontological axis
The essential condition for the flourishing of the good life is slamalil k’inal, a multidimensional harmony that rejects fragmentation. This notion requires balance within oneself—where the heart rests in serenity (nakal o’tanil)—social peace with family and the community, and a bond of unrestricted respect for the sacred and Mother Earth (Me’tik Lum K’inal) (Ribera, 2021).
2. The Cosmic “We” and the “One Heart” (Jun pajal o’tanil)
In the Tzeltal worldview, the individual is not conceived of in an atomized or individualistic way. The concept of “we” (tik) transcends the sphere of human interactions to encompass animals, plants, hills, and springs (Lenkersdorf, 2005; Pérez Moreno, 2014). The community attains the status of jun pajal o’tanil (one heart or harmony) when it operates under the conviction that what affects one element of the network affects the entire living fabric (Maurer Ávalos, 2021; García Reyes, 2010). Consequently, political decisions aimed at building community governance are not governed by the arithmetic-majority logic of the most votes, but rather by assembly-based processes of consensus-building, where all hearts come to agree (Cubells Aguilar, 2021).
3. The Territory (Lum k’inal) as a Living and Sacred Entity
In contrast to the extractivist reductionism that characterizes the land as an expropriable geometric surface, the Tseltal affirm that the territory possesses a heart (o’tan) and a soul (ch’ulel) (Ribera, 2021; Santiz Gómez, 2015). No member of the community would legitimately claim that the land belongs to them; the ontological certainty is that human beings belong to the land (García Reyes, 2010). Landforms, caves, and mountains are not geological resources, but rather the dwellings of ancestors and spiritual guardians (Ajawetik) with whom a continuous intersubjective dialogue is maintained (Pérez Moreno, 2021). The very act of cultivating the milpa is viewed with reverence and delicacy, as “harming the holy face” of Mother Earth (García Reyes, 2010), which requires rituals to ask for forgiveness and offerings of reciprocity to permanently restore the cosmic balance (Maurer Ávalos, 2021).
II. Characteristics of Decolonial Eco-Communal Spirituality as a Praxis of Resistance
When the Modevite take to the roads, undertake pilgrimages, or reconstitute their Internal Normative Systems to move toward self-governance, they are translating this spiritual framework into ethical-political categories. The essential features that shape this decolonial eco-communal spirituality as a driving force for territorial resistance are manifested in the following aspects:
1. Respect (Ich’el ta muk’) and Territorial Reciprocity
Ich’el ta muk’ is the value that bestows greatness and dignity upon every component of the cosmos (Bolom Pale, 2024; López Intzín, 2015; Ribera, 2021). In the context of resistance to the San Cristóbal-Palenque highway, this principle becomes an imperative for radical defense: harming Mother Earth through the devastation caused by megaprojects involving concrete and asphalt constitutes a direct attack on the body-territory, the identity, and the spirit of the entire community. Resistance is, in this way, the fulfillment of a duty of sacred reciprocity (Trigueiro de Lima, 2021).
2. Communalism (Komonaletik) and Service (Obedient Power)
In the face of the bureaucratization of state politics, Modevite and community government structures are revitalizing komonaletik. Collective work (komon a’tel) and the exercise of public office are not viewed as platforms for individual advancement or enrichment, but rather as voluntary and mandatory services aimed at sustaining social cohesion and caring for collective life (Roulund, 2021; Trigueiro de Lima, 2021; Cubells Aguilar, 2021; Mendoza Zárate, 2021). The public servant is at the service of the community (Morales, 1994); they exercise their service as a form of obedient power (Dussel, 2006). The maturity and authority of a community member are validated by their capacity for selfless dedication to the common good.
3. Food Sovereignty as Biocentric Resistance
The defense of native seeds and the milpa system against the agroindustrial logic of the globalized market is a material pillar of lekil kuxlejal. Eating from one’s own land in a healthy and autonomous way is a political act of civil and decolonial disobedience. By rejecting the inputs that poison the face of the Me’tik Lum K’inal, the community practices preventive medicine that understands health as a state of inseparable balance between the biological body, the social body, and the cosmos (Ribera, 221; Parra Vázquez et al., 2021).
III. Horizons in the Face of Civilizational Collapse: A Deeply Rooted Spirituality as a Global Alternative
Eurocentric, capitalist modernity suffers from a self-inflicted ontological blindness. By conceiving the world through mechanical and purely utilitarian frameworks, it has triggered a civilizational collapse of planetary proportions that threatens the fundamental conditions of the biosphere (Escobar, 2014). It is within this context of global vulnerability that the decolonial praxis of Modevite takes on universal significance.
In this sense, the eco-communal spirituality of the Maya peoples does not operate under the colonial logic of fuga mundi. We are not dealing with forms of mysticism of an introspective nature that seek the salvation of the soul through evasion of the contradictions of history. On the contrary, Tseltal spirituality is a form of “open-eyed” mysticism, deeply rooted in the textures of the soil, water, and forests of their communities. They pray while walking through the land; they worship the divine by defending the spring against corporate and governmental dynamics of dispossession.
This spirituality functions as a mechanism of re-existence (Walsh, 2013), a notion that implies the capacity of oppressed peoples to invent life on a daily basis and challenge the state’s sovereignty from civilizational frameworks outside of Western hegemony. While the political theology of the nation-state invokes a permanent state of exception (Schmitt, 2009) to justify extractivism under the pretext of development, the decolonial eco-communal spirituality of the Tseltal people prioritizes the sacredness of the commons as an insurmountable barrier to commercial greed.
Conclusion
The historical experience of Modevite in Chiapas clearly reveals that the defense of the territory and the building of community governance constitute, at their core, a single, unified spiritual and political endeavor. The organized community resistance against the San Cristóbal-Palenque highway megaproject is tangible proof that lekil kuxlejalil is neither an archaeological concept nor a folkloric construct for tourist consumption, but rather a fully relevant political and decolonial alternative.
By reminding us that we are part of a cosmic “we” and that we belong to a Mother Earth endowed with a heart and consciousness, the Tseltal communities offer us the conceptual and historical tools to dismantle the anthropocentric structures of colonial modernity. Listening to and embracing the voice of Modevite is not an act of condescending solidarity; it is a necessity for our shared survival. The seed of a possible future is safeguarded in these peoples’ cry of resistance, firmly reminding us that life is not for sale and that the territory—as a sanctuary of our shared existence—must be defended right now.
Original text by Gabriel Mendoza Zárate published at Caminos de Vida y Resistencia on September 3rd, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.
*Full-time faculty member in the Department of Social Sciences and member of the Observatory on Social Participation and Democratic Quality at the Ibero-Puebla. He has been associated with Modevite for more than ten years. Email: gabriel.mendoza@iberopuebla.mx. Presentation for the Pluriversos de la Justicia Forum: Modevite: The Struggle for Life and Territory, held at the SCJN headquarters on July 8, 2026.