Polygamy among the LeBarón. Mormons A political and economic model in Mexico

Abstract

The paper analyzes the practice of polygamy in the  fundamentalist Mormon  community of LeBaron,  Chihuahua, Mexico. The  research seeks to demonstrate,
primarily through the  genealogical method, the characteristics of this  patriarchal model, which has gone from being a prohibited and persecuted doctrine in the United States to being strategically claimed as part of the “uses and customs” of Mormonism to justify political demands in the Mexican context. The relevance of this
research lies in relating the discourses of vindication and
self-determination of an ethno-religious group that has sought to be recognized as a “community comparable to indigenous peoples” with the practice of polygamy, to defend a religious, territorial, and  economic project. We conclude that the future of polygamy among the LeBaron family depends on a network of transnational networks and the patriarchal model that sustains it.