Case Study

This Mexican case study was a narrative intervention rooted in centuries of Indigenous resistance around Lake Texcoco, where communities have long defended their territory against extractive megaprojects. In 2013, narrative action and local organising succeeded in halting plans for a new international airport – by introducing a powerful third option into the public imagination: “Yo Prefiero El Lago” (I prefer the lake) – in response to government consultations that only offered two choices: airport on the lake or airport elsewhere. Below is the Point of View for the narrative intervention:

We are a coalition of 22 organisations, activists, local authorities, and communities from the Lake Texcoco region, united in denouncing the construction of a new international airport on this ancient and sacred land.

We see that the official airport consultations ignore the voices of local communities who live in deep, relational connection with the territory. Instead, the consultations prioritise extractive, profit-driven interests that treat the land as a commodity – reinforcing a neoliberal logic of development – under the illusion of community choice (“airport here, or elsewhere”).

Therefore, we want to hack the airport conversation: To reveal that the lake – as a living ecosystem and cultural memory – matters more than economic growth. 

To do this, we must intervene in upcoming consultations to:

1. Amplify the voices and struggles of Texcoco communities, reaching people in the city and beyond.
2. Build shared narratives that connect local resistance to a broader public, helping others see what is truly at stake.
3. Create a third option beyond the “airport here on Texcoco Lake” or “airport somewhere else”: no airport altogether. 

In addition, in deep collaboration with community organisers and land defenders, we also co-wrote a poetic Point of View or manifesto – a letter of the lake – that speaks through the voices of those who live in kinship with the water and land.

You have completed the first step of the Culture Hack Method!