The need to tackle climate change and development efforts together is widely acknowledged. However, even just the possibility of alternative visions of development is seldom contemplated. In fact, adaptation research usually assumes as “statements of truth” the monolithic claims about development constructed from the status quo of global capitalism. We argue that global environmental challenges cannot be properly addressed just through more sophisticated coping mechanisms, but will require changing the ways societies articulate their collective vision about development. In the Mexican Caribbean, a region at the ‘front line’ of both globalization and climate change, we found a hegemonic vision that equates development with capital accumulation through real estate speculation and large investments in tourism. This vision supports a governance structure which defines climate coping in terms of keeping economic growth and profitability unaffected by “external” threats such as hurricanes. Despite a lack of counter-hegemonic visions some tourism pioneers, small entrepreneurs, Mayas, middle class immigrants, and ex-fishers articulate alternative claims about development. Such claims envision endogenous urbanization processes controlled by local middle-classes and based on small-scale ecohotels. However, these groups largely operate under the dictates of the hegemonic vision. They have performed a few episodes of civic resistance, but with little success in altering the course of development. As regards to hurricane coping strategies, there is a general endorsement and support of the coping mechanisms devised from the hegemonic vision, which consists of effective evacuation procedures and the attraction of investment for rapid economic recovery. The paper illustrates how adaptation analysis can be enriched by considering the interrelations between development, governance, and coping. In the context of radical and new climate changes the emergence of counter-hegemonic visions and structures may become vital for adaptability.