Cherán

Cherán is an Indigenous Purépecha town in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. It is the only town in the country that has successfully expelled drug cartels, political parties, and state security forces from its territory following a major uprising, led primarily by women, in 2011. Since then, the community has governed and protected itself autonomously and, crucially, reclaimed the vast forest that cartels had been illegally logging to exploit the town’s natural resources.

Through impressive community-driven infrastructure, Cherán has reforested thousands of acres and developed sustainable environmental systems that fund social programs within the community. This project explores how the town has achieved environmental success in one of Mexico’s most violent states—Michoacán, where the drug war was first launched in 2006—while across the country, environmental defenders are often murdered for trying to protect natural resources.

Before Cherán’s reforestation efforts began, criminal groups had destroyed nearly 20,000 of the town’s roughly 30,000 acres of forest. A decade later, the forest—comprising oaks, pines, and other native species—has been significantly restored. According to local officials, more than 17,000 acres have been reforested since the program began, meaning Cherán has nearly completed the recovery from years of illegal logging.