Statement of Research Plan My research will focus on the displacement and dispossession of communities caused by tourism development and neoliberal reforms along the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Specifically, I will be examining the activities of Grupo Vidanta, a conglomerate Mexican and multinational resort company, as well as state-led tourist programs such as Pueblo Magicos, and how both entities expropriate or exploit land for profit. I will approach this research using theoretical frameworks such as neoliberalism, liberalism, neocolonialism, and capitalism to help explain the expropriation of land and labor exploitation of campesinos and indigenous groups on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

To conduct this research, I plan to travel to Nuevo Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta, and Sayulita. My fieldwork will entail oral histories and archival research work, and I have a list of people who have been displaced due to gentrification or land usurpation who I would like to interview. I will also speak to individuals who work in the tourist industry to get their perspective on how much these places have changed over the past twenty years. Additionally, I may visit museums and speak to curators to gather more information.