Costa Oriental Digital Review

Routines in cross -border cooperation: the experience of the intermunicipal summits between the south -west of Guatemala and Tapachula, Chiapas

Andrea Orozco Godinez. — 2025-08-27

This article identifies and values the routines present in a cross-border cooperation experience starring the municipal governments of southwestern Guatemala and Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. This experience, known as “Intermunicipal Cumbres by building development bridges between Guatemala and Tapachula” took place between 2016 and 2019. The first section outlines the protocols established by the participants in the intermunicipal summits to guide their development and achieve their objectives. This information is useful for identifying routines related to the general organizational process and the construction of specific cooperation initiatives. The second section shows the analytical perspective of Pentland and Feldman (2005) that guides the evaluation of routines, especially their internal structure and the interaction between their components. The last section presents preliminary findings regarding how the constituent aspects of the routines interact within the context of the Intermunicipal experience. It also raises methodological challenges presented by the study of routines from the perspective adopted.

Cross-border scientific research with primary data: security risks at the Mexico-Belize border

Crucita Ken Rodriguez — 2025-08-27

Belice es una de las tres fronteras de México, y la más desconocida. Existe una cantidad impresionante de investigaciones en las otras dos fronteras: México- Guatemala y México - Estados Unidos. Como en la mayoría de las fronteras terrestres, la frontera México-Belice se caracteriza por intercambios de parentesco y culturas, pero también es un área de tránsito formal y no formal de mercancías y de personas. Dentro de lo no formal, existe un tráfico de personas, drogas y otros productos de contrabando. Por consiguiente, la frontera está compartida con organizaciones que manejan estos negocios. La situación imperante ocasiona que se cuente con escasa investigación en esta frontera de México y aún menos sustentada con trabajo de campo para la obtención de datos primarios. La hipótesis de este trabajo es que, en situaciones desafiantes como estas, la investigación debe adaptarse al contexto del área de estudio para lograr la obtención de datos primarios. Se esbozará la situación en esta frontera para dejar en claro el reto de seguridad al que se enfrentan los investigadores que realizan trabajo de campo para la colección de datos. Se concluye con propuestas de métodos y técnicas de investigación dentro de las ciencias sociales que son útiles en circunstancias adversas y que permiten la recolección de datos válidos para la investigación. Para finalizar, se aportan algunas consideraciones para minimizar el riesgo de seguridad para los investigadores.

EDUFRANTERA: Facilitation of collaborative processes of non-formal education in sustainable local development with rural organizations in cross-border villages of the Santa Cecilia district, La Cruz, Costa Rica

Pavel Bautista Solis — 2025-08-27

Sustainable local development is a pending goal in much of the rural areas of Latin America. In particular, border rural areas have a series of biophysical, socio-political, and institutional challenges that hinder the well-being of the local population. In Costa Rica, rural development is the responsibility of the Rural Development Institute (INDER), which facilitates a territorial governance scheme to support the potentialities of the rural territory. However, this scheme is complex and seems to deepen asymmetries in human capital, which hinders development. The objective of this work is to analyze how rural organizations in the district of Santa Cecilia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, are incorporated into the institutional development efforts of the Costa Rican State. The findings indicate that strengthening organizational capacities is necessary to engage in Costa Rica's official rural development scheme.

Social Representations of Political Elites and the Urban Transformation of the Border City of Chetumal

Tania Libertad Camal-Cheluja — 2025-08-27

This paper examines how social representations, a concept developed by Moscovici (1961), have influenced the urban configuration of Chetumal, the capital of Quintana Roo. It argues that political elites, guided by interests in modernization, exclusivity, and order (Harvey, 1989; Lefebvre, 1974), have shaped the growth of Chetumal in an irregular and anarchic manner, without rational urban planning or citizen participation. Using Jean Gottmann's (1973) concept of "iconographies," the study analyzes how urban symbols in Chetumal seek to differentiate the city within the border context. Since the 1970s, population growth and transformations of the urban landscape have been driven by the perceptions and preferences of political power, affecting local identity and limiting the democratic appropriation of public space by inhabitants.

Bioeconomy as a paradigm to face cross -border climatic mobility

Rigoberto Rodríguez Quiros — 2025-08-27

Climate change affects life on land in various ways; among these are increases in temperature and sea level, decreases in rainfall and productivity in agricultural activities, and increases in pests and diseases that can impact life. These climatic changes also lead to effects that drive both internal and cross-border migration, forcing people to face risks such as unemployment, hunger, and difficult living conditions associated with nomadic lifestyles. The objective of this contribution is to discuss the various links that the bioeconomy has—as a new development paradigm—to support the management and protection of natural resources, modern technologies, and renewable energies as tools to combat climate change. It also explores their connection to climate-induced migration processes and adaptation measures that can help reduce these unwanted movements. The results indicate a relationship between climate change, declining quality of life, and increases in human mobility. In addition, there is a need for greater cooperation between countries, as well as more research and information to effectively address the problem. It is concluded that the bioeconomy seeks to improve general conditions related to resource use, infrastructure, and production through innovation and modern technologies based on natural resources, alongside the use of clean energy and sustainable production and consumption systems—elements that are connected to reducing human mobility caused by global climate change.

Possession, exploitation, transaction and legal conditions in the Costa Rica-Panama border strip

Roy Atencio Morales — 2025-08-27

This article describes the situation faced by people who occupy properties along the Southern Border Strip of Costa Rica. The legal framework provides that the INDER administers and grants concessions in order to fulfill the legal purposes for which it was created. With regard to land possession, the concession contract constitutes a real administrative right in favor of the concessionaire for a period of 25 years, and up to 50 years for the use of communal services. The permitted exploitation is linked to residential and agricultural use, through activities such as livestock farming, coffee cultivation, oil palm production, and self-consumption. Likewise, activities such as hotels, supermarkets, small eateries, and restaurants are allowed, encouraged by the trade generated by existing commercial establishments. For transactions involving these properties, commercial values similar to those of deeded properties are established; however, historically, cases of fraud have occurred. The perception of legal uncertainty generates conflicts in which acts of invasion occur and are encouraged. Additionally, for financial institutions, these lands do not provide sufficient collateral to be considered as a guarantee. All these conditions have led to initiatives aimed at granting land titles; however, these have not been implemented, and consequently, the legal status of the border strips remains unchanged.

Business opportunities in organizations in the border canton of the Cruz, Guanacaste

Fernando Gutiérrez Coto — 2025-08-27

This document aims to showcase the experiences from the academic initiative entitled “Strengthening Agro‑Productive Capacities in Border Organizations of the Canton of La Cruz, Guanacaste”, designed to generate commercial opportunities. The project originated under the auspices of the Regional Interuniversity Coordination Body (OCIR) and was implemented in collaboration with the Rural Development Institute (INDER), the National University’s Chorotega Regional Campus, and the University of Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Campus. The research employed an exploratory–descriptive design. Three agro‑productive organizations participated in the study. Data collection instruments included questionnaires and interviews, supplemented by field visits to the area and a literature review. The findings indicate that this academic initiative fosters a system of coordination with regional institutions and promotes the development of participants’ academic capacities, thereby creating favorable conditions for the management of the state university in the region. Finally, members of each participating organization enhanced their entrepreneurial skills through the learning acquired during the project, thus expanding their commercial opportunities.

Degraded landscapes and mining extraction at the southeast and southern borders of Venezuela

Mario Valero Martinez — 2025-08-27

The topic addressed in this article is part of an ongoing research line on Venezuelan borders, sponsored and supported by various projects of the Council for Scientific, Humanistic, Technological, and Arts Development (CDCHTA) at the Universidad de Los Andes. Specifically, it aims to analyze the most relevant aspects of mining extraction and its impact on geo-environmental and cultural degradation in the states of Bolívar and Amazonas, located in southeastern and southern Venezuela along the borders with Brazil and Colombia. The study particularly examines the intensified environmental effects observed during the first two decades of the twenty-first century, driven by shifts in both legal and illegal mining extractivism policies. First, we discuss the 2011 nationalization of gold and other strategic minerals. Next, the analysis focuses on the devastating consequences of the 2016 decree establishing the National Plan for the Strategic Development of the Orinoco Mining Arc. Additionally, it explores the role of Venezuelan state forces, the violence perpetrated by criminal groups, gangs, and Colombian guerrilla factions in territorial disputes, and their clashes with Indigenous communities. In short, this work seeks to comprehensively describe the degradation process in Venezuela’s most significant protected areas from multiple perspectives.