Urban Extractivism and Urban Struggles in Mexico City: The Paradox of Political Opportunity

ABSTRACT This study examines how grassroots actors in Mexico City interpret and contest processes of urban restructuring through discourses and political framings associated with urban extractivism in Mexico City, highlighting two phases: the ‘soft’ phase (2000–2017), in which cultural and symbolic valorization reshaped urban space, and the ‘hard’ phase following the 2017 earthquake, when reconstruction was leveraged for speculative development and resident displacement. Drawing on participatory action research and in‐depth interviews with grassroots actors in self‐organized neighbourhood spaces located primarily in central areas—such as Colonia Roma, Juárez, Condesa and surrounding districts that have faced the most aggressive development pressures, the study documents local resistances to real estate speculation and the emergence of collective mobilizations coordinating efforts across neighbourhoods against large‐scale projects. The research emphasizes the paradox of political opportunity: although the election of a ‘friendly’ government in 2018 opened channels for dialogue and fostered the institutional incorporation of movements, this often weakened mobilization and left grassroots actors navigating tensions between formal political engagement and the unchecked advance of capital. Despite these constraints and the intensification of urban extractivism in the city centre, forms of creative resistance emerged. These practices go beyond negation or protest, representing prefigurative processes—experiments in living, organizing and reimagining urban space beyond state mediation. Through these initiatives, communities reclaim the use value of land, produce autonomous geographies and reshape social relations, while exploring new forms of collective action, solidarity and participation.