Abstract

The deployment of 29 wind farms in the indigenous territories of Ikoots and Zapotecs in the Isthmus of Tetuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico is analyzed based on six dimensions: geopolitical; economic and financial inequalities; power, violence, and decision making; land grabbing and dispossession; impacts on territories and commons; resistance and socio-territorial conflicts. In the context of the energy crisis and climate emergency, this paradigmatic case contributes to the debate about whether the deployment of large-scale wind energy infrastructure is part of the energy transition or represents a case of energy colonialism. The results of this study allow us to conclude that energy colonialism is a useful concept for understanding and critiquing the effects of the deployment of large-scale wind energy megaprojects. At the same time, it suggests elements to consider for the decolonization of the energy transition.

Keywords: Colonialism, renewable megaprojects, indigenous people, windfarm, territory

How to Cite:

Contreras, J. S., Deniau, Y., Velázquez Quesada, S. I., Pérez Macías, L. F. & Manzo Matus, A. G., (2026) “Energy colonialism: Wind farms in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico”, Journal of Political Ecology 33(1): 6430. doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.6430