Less protection for better conservation? A politicised relationship between a city and its protected area in the vicinity of Nevado de Toluca (Mexico)

The Nevado de Toluca Mountain is a protected area located near Toluca, the fifth largest city in Mexico. In 2013, Nevado de Toluca National Park was downgraded to an Area of Protection for Flora and Fauna. This new status aims to allow a measured use of natural resources in the Park, while also enhancing their control by stakeholders by means of supervised management plans. Tolerate and control, rather than forbid and fail, should thus better address the social pressure due to many surrounding suburban activities. This article will show, however, that the new status is not primarily geared towards improving nature conservation policies. Instead it is revealing a new pattern in stakeholder relationships, as well as power asymmetries and development gaps between rural and urban areas, with the possible privatization of forest resources. This trend also questions the liberalization in the management of protected areas at the international scale.