Yeyecoani

Yeyecoani is a Nahuatl term describing a scientist, researcher or engineer. The term does not have a direct translation to non-Nahuatl languages but is generally understood to refer to one to experiments or innovates, or someone who is involved in the development of a procedure, design or concept. The term is widely used in Zacapican and is flexibly applied to foreign and domestically trained Zacapine specialists as well as those of foreign birth who are employed within various science and technology initiatives of the Zacapine government. Although the term has a somewhat specific meaning in the Zacapine context, yeyecoani is sometimes used as a general term of any STEM professional employed by any nation. Even in this vernacular context, however, a yeyecoani is always a state employee and never a private sector professional.

In Zacapican, science and technology carries an inordinate and outsized political significance to the elected officials and functionaries of the government. The success of technological and infrastructural projects promoted by various politicians or government officers is the primary vehicle for career advancement, and is generally prioritized and publicized above purely social and institutional initiatives. The Zacapine focus on technological advancement is associated with strands of utopian thought that were incorporated into the idea of "modern Zacapican" which was pushed forward by the first modern Zacapine leader, Xolotecatl Acuixoc. The self-perception of Zacapican by its people as a country guided by scientific principles and a cradle for innovation, regardless of the actual state of infrastructural development and STEM initiatives through the decades, subsequently became a core element of the Zacapine national identity which began to emerge in the late Xolotecate (1933-1938). An important concept in Zacapine nationalism is the transformation of the environment and the harnessing of natural principles to benefit humanity in general and Zacapican in particular. For example, the Moyocoya Dam has become a national icon and an important monument as well as functional piece of infrastructure because its supply of water and power to the desert of Xallipan enabled the expansive development of that region.

Engineers and scientists employed by various organs of the Zacapine state collectively form the Yeyecoani class, the main component of the Zacapine intelligentsia. These educated elite claim a special status in Zacapine society, elevated by the general perception of their importance to the country and their role in furthering the concept of modern Zacapican. The most notable and some of the most prestigious yeyecoani figures both presently and historically are the engineers of the YAT program, especially the directors of YAT technology bureaus who are often engaged in political lobbying and advocacy to gain support for their projects.