Fondos Comunitarios de Ahorro e inclusión financiera rural en Zacatecas: una lectura crítica desde la economía política del desarrollo rural

Community Savings Funds (CSFs) are community-based financial mechanisms that mobilize small savings and address credit needs in rural areas with limited access to financial services. This article reexamines the experience of seven CSFs in Zacatecas using empirical evidence collected in 2017, primarily concerning 2016, and interprets it through the theoretical perspectives of political economy, rural development, transaction costs, collective action, and social reproduction. The study employs a quantitative, nonexperimental, cross-sectional design, with 15 participants selected from a population of 141 members across seven funds. The findings indicate average monthly savings of $243.33, average monthly interest rates of 4.71% for members and 9.43% for nonmembers, and an average distance of 89.27 km between the communities studied and the nearest commercial bank. Traveling to the bank involved a reported average transportation cost of $129.07, whereas depositing savings in a CSF required an average of 14 minutes. Trust, community-based management, and geographical proximity emerged as relevant factors in the funds' continued operation. However, savings and credit were largely allocated to healthcare, subsistence, and other household reproduction needs, while productive investment accounted for a smaller proportion. The study concludes that CSFs constitute a territorially embedded form of financial inclusion but cannot replace formal financial infrastructure or independently resolve the structural inequalities affecting rural development.