Journal of Rural Studies 78 (2020) 292–303 Available online 29 June 2020 0743-0167/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The pebble in the shoe: Gods on the run, the public, and the politics of life on the Nayarit coast, Mexico Francisca L� opez Regalado a, b, * , Gerard Verschoor a a Sociology of Development and Change Group, Wageningen University. Hollandseweg 1, 6701, KN, Wageningen, the Netherlands b Universidad Aut� onoma de Nayarit. Ciudad de La Cultura Amado Nervo. Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Wixaritari Nay� eeri Ontologies The public Politics of life Nayarit ABSTRACT This article aims to describe and analyse the emergence and constitution of the public in the coastal town of San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico. Based on Ranci� ere’s notion of politics, Dewey’s concept of the public, and relational approaches to ontology, we draw on ethnographic, archival and interview research to follow the tracks of human and non-human actors laying competing claims on a site considered to have different characteristics within different ontologies. We show how the worlds of progress that potentially link the site to real estate profts, tourism and fsheries development enter into confict with those of Wixaritari and Nay� eeri Indigenous peoples defending an alliance between nature and spirituality. Enacted in and through the same as their opponents’ materiality, Indigenous renderings of the confict work as a pebble in the shoe for traditional politics. In particular, we focus on the way in which the site -and its entities-becomes public and political as it gradually surrounds itself with an ontologically heterogeneous audience, and how this is dealt with in practice. We argue that, as an effect, the notion of ‘the political’ changes to encompass not only a politics of who, but also a politics of what –of life itself. We conclude that the public emerges from, and is constituted by, ontological difference. If you ask me what is more important: spirituality or place, or whether spirituality goes beyond place, I would say that for us spiritu- ality is a force, an energy that dwells in the sea, the stones, the trees, the river. Yes, there are places where spirituality is concentrated … but this does not mean that this spirituality ends when it’s scared off from these places –and they have, you know. For example when the Aguamilpa dam fooded us. These sacred places already possess this force, this energy which just grows as we nourish it with our religion and with our offer- ings …. Politicians and CFE 1 guys say: ah! It’s only stones, and we’re just moving them from here to there! But what would they say if we fooded the Cathedral?(Juli� an L� opez C� anare, Coordinator of the Nay� eeri Indigenous Council, December 2015). 1. Introduction Just off the coast of the fshing town of San Blas, the White Stone abruptly rises from the sea. Silent witness to recent and not-so-recent dreams of buccaneers, settlers-turned-pilgrims, naval and military off- cers, or traders in land and fsh, the White Stone welcomes pilgrims from a variety of religions and ethnic groups to venerate their sacred site: Wixaritari 2 (who call her Tatei Haramara), Nay� eeri (who name her Vil- lanta), and Catholic (for whom the Stone houses the Virgin of F� atima) (Map 1). Yet the recent history of this seemingly harmonious concert of re- ligiosities has been all but peaceful – particularly not as the comings and goings of the Wixaritari and Nay� eeri peoples became entangled with those of the people of San Blas through the fsheries policy of Eche- verría’s (1970–1976) Keynesian Administration. Echeverría’s campaign slogan, ‘Arriba y adelante’ 3 took the country by storm - a storm that hit San Blas’ shore head-on. Thus, on a muggy morning in 1972, San Blas awoke to the sound of shovels, TNT and bulldozers which blasted away part of what for local people was just a large, lifeless rock formation on the beach facing the White Stone. The blast was cheered by Sanblase~ nos: they heartily embraced the dream of progress, hailed the building of a * Corresponding author. Sociology of Development and Change Group, Wageningen University. Hollandseweg 1, 6701, KN, Wageningen, the Netherlands. E-mail addresses: francisca.lopezregalado@wur.nl, francisca.lopez@uan.edu.mx (F.L. Regalado), gerard.verschoor@wur.nl (G. Verschoor). 1 The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) is a parastatal company owned by the Mexican State. It is responsible for the generation of energy and, therefore, responsible to carry out the consultation process with affected communities when building dams. 2 Wixaritari is the plural form; Wixarica the singular. 3 ‘Higher and forward’. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Rural Studies journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jrurstud https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.06.014 Received 20 March 2019; Received in revised form 19 April 2020; Accepted 3 June 2020