Despite the strategic
intentions of local community involvement and citizen
empowerment stipulated in the Pueblos Magicos guidelines, the
project inventorying and selecting process in Alamos was far from
democratic and inclusive. Although members of the local community
were provided with a more active role as ‘participants’ in
the everyday implementation of conservation measures on the
ground, they barely have influence on final decision-making.
The analysis explored the place-specific circuits of power in
Alamos and social dynamics of the local PMP committee. In this
section we address the particular role and bargaining power of the
North American community. Despite still being perceived as ‘aliens’,
they have gained significant legitimacy among the locals over
the past twenty years (Clausen, 2008; Clausen and Velazquez,
2010), owing to their social entrepreneurship initiatives. As suggested
by Goldring (1998), financing local development projects
through transnational NGO projects become efficient mechanisms
to attain political influence or get their voice heard. The non-profit
organizations operate through transnational practices, and intervene
in the development of Alamos through an active participation
in matters that should be the responsibility of the local government.
Our findings demonstrate that the North Americans