| Summary: | This article explores state regulations on forests and the environment established between the mid-nineteenth and early twenty-first centuries in Mexico. I contend that regulations must be confronted vis-à-vis the state and its relationship to international capital circuits to understand their implementation. To illustrate my argument, I turn to my research in the Purhépecha highlands in the Mexican state of Michoacán. This marginal region became relevant to the Mexican state when forests underwent a process of commodification in the nineteenth century. First, I outline the transition from timber production to Hass avocado production enabled by state regulations; secondly, I present a local initiative aiming to limit logging, deforestation, and land use change at the municipality of Tancítaro.
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