Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

México: Penguin Randon House. 316 pp., ISBN: 978-607-319-173-9

Landslides are among the most common natural events that cause mass destruction worldwide. For this reason, studying the causes, behavior, and mitigation of landslides is essential to reduce their adverse impacts. These occur most frequently in tropical environments because of the amount and intensity of rainfall that, combined with steep relief, damages urban, livestock, agricultural, and industrial infrastructure, leading to changes in the environment and even loss of human life. Several studies have investigated the origin and effect of morphodynamic processes associated with landslides. However, given their complexity, there is still uncertainty about the prediction of their incidence. Although landslides result from various interactions, where relief morphology and the evolution of slopes play a primary role, a single factor, such as precipitation or an earthquake, is considered the external triggering factor. The Huehuetan River basin, located on the Chiapas coast, is highly susceptible to landslides caused by heavy rains. Therefore, this study aimed to identify areas prone to landslides due to soil saturation associated with precipitation. To this end, we calculated the Stability Index (SI) and the Soil Saturation Index (SSI) through the SINMAP (Stability INdex MAPping) model to be used as support elements in urban planning and for the prevention or amelioration of landslides through structural and non-structural measures. The Huehuetan River basin is located in southeast Chiapas, covering an area of 319.27 km2, and is part of the Sierra Madre of Chiapas. It is characterized by a hilly relief, mainly in the upper portion, with elevations ranging from 19 to 2690 meters above sea level, and 83.15% of the total surface area has slopes greater than 10%. The predominant soil is Litosol (36.63%), followed by Andosol (28.71%), while its geology is dominated by igneous (more than 85%) and sedimentary rocks. The basin was delimited using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model based on the Digital Elevation Model (MDE) with a 10 m spatial resolution and the drainage network from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (National Institute of Statistics and Geography). We built a landslide inventory for the period 2005 to 2021. First, we performed field trips across the Huehuetan River basin, supported by GPS equipment for the spatial location of landslide polygons. Landsat 7 and Sentinel 2A satellite images were used as support tools for locating and detecting landslides larger than 100 m2; smaller landslides were recorded based on field trips and located on Google Earth®. The SINMAP model was executed from the MDE, the mechanical and hydrogeological properties of the soils, and the landslide inventory. The terrain stability was classified by estimating the spatial distribution of SI and SSI across the Huehuetan River basin. We determined that 24.36% (77.76 km2) of the basin is an unstable area and 75.64% (241.51 km2) is stable. The highest slope instability values were observed in the highlands due to the relief conditions, soil type, and vegetation cover. The performance of the SINMAP model was evaluated by comparing the spatial distribution of the SI with the landslide inventory obtained for the basin using the ROC curve method; it yielded an 85.60% accuracy that grades it as excellent. The SINMAP model allowed for determining the SI and SSI easily and accurately. Both indices can be used for urban planning and to reduce serious damage from landslides. The results of this study suggest that using the SINMAP model as a tool for mapping landslide susceptible areas is a feasible option. It will allow decision-makers to plan for urban growth by identifying and zoning vulnerable areas and applying structural and non-structural control measures.

Manuel Fernández Leal was a topographical and hydrographic engineer of great importance for the development of Mexican geography during the last third of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, due to his influence in the governmental, educational, associationist and institutional spheres. The article problematizes the geographical production of Fernández Leal as an example of the scientific participation of expert officials in the solution of problems of public and governmental interest during the Porfiriato through the press. The methodology takes up the figure of the scientific expert as an individual qualified to make decisions on issues of social and governmental interest based on his academic abilities. The main results show that Fernández Leal is an example of the Mexican scientist who participated in the construction of the figure of the official expert, since his hemerographic work was linked to his work in the Ministry of Development and the National School of Engineers. The study of his geographical production allows us to account for the concerns of a generation of experts who promoted the Porfirian modernizing project. The conclusions show that in the thought of Fernández Leal there were three axes: the recognition of the Mexican regions of geopolitical interest, the reflection on the economic capacities of the territory and the modernization of topographical activities. Fernández Leal traveled as an official through the various federal governments due to his scientific-technical capabilities that distinguished him as an expert both in scientific practice and in the administration of public resources.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the way we move around due to the constant risk of contracting the virus and the social-distancing measures and restrictions implemented by the authorities. These have produced changes in modal travel behaviors because of the perception of COVID-19. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the significant variables that explain the relationship of COVID-related socio-demographic, commuting, and integral perception variables with the modal shift in urban mobility of public transport users. To this end, we considered the socio-demographic, commuting, and integral perception characteristics of users to estimate a binary logistic regression model based on data from 365 valid questionnaires applied in the Benito Juarez Industrial Park (PIBJ, in Spanish), located in the Santiago de Queretaro urban zone, Mexico. The results show that occupation, commuting time, awareness about the consequences of becoming infected, the possibility of becoming infected while using/not using public transport, and whether using public transport is considered risky are variables significantly related to the modal shift in public transport users during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Forced internal displacement is a phenomenon that derives from conditions of intense violence, from different victimizing circumstantial facts, which has as a consequence a mobility in the territory of social groups in conditions of extreme vulnerability. This article is an exploratory descriptive study of the relationship between forced displacement and the presence of metal mining operations in different regions of the country, in the phases of exploration, production, development, postponement or closure. The study addresses displacement through a proxy, composed of emigration at the municipal level associated with high incidence rates of high-impact crime. It shows the correlation values ​​of both aspects through a regionalization of the country, in order to significantly observe the presence and spatial distribution of both phenomena. It describes the peculiarities that exist in each of these regions at the national level, according to the type of mining activity and the profiles of violence that occur in them. This paper addresses the methodological problems associated with the identification and spatial association of these phenomena, based on the information available in various statistical sources, as well as official and civil society databases. The use of these sources allows exploring the challenges related to the study and visualization of forced internal displacement, which can serve as input for the application of regulatory frameworks and care for the prevention of this phenomenon.

México: Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. Unidad Xochimilco. División de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades. 295 pp., ISBN 978-607-28-2287-0.

México: Dirección General de Publicaciones y Fomento Editorial, Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Colección México 500, volumen   14).  111 pp., ISBN 978-607-30673-2.

1850-1950. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 322. pp. ISBN 978-1-108-83127-7.