Indigenous People of Mexico Natchaya Zhou& Allison Zhou

Background In Mexico, 15% of the population(15.7 million) identifies itself as indigenous. In the Southern state of Oaxaca alone, 56% of people consider themselves indigenous, divided into around 16 ethnic and linguistic groups, in addition to a small population of African descent.

Under the Constitution, indigenous peoples in Mexico have the rights to self-determination, which includes, among others, the right to autonomy, education, infrastructure and no discrimination However, each Mexican state has its own constitution and can establish a new legislation. In some cases, as regards indigenous people, the local legislation has limited the provisions recognized in the national consitutition.

As a consequence the protection of indigenous people’s rights varies greatly from state to state. While some political entities have established a wide range of policies aiming at the promotion of indigenous people’s rights, others have not developed an institutional framework.

Consequences Many indigenous peoples continue to suffer discrimination in all sphere of public life. Many, especially women, receive arbitrary or disproportionate sentences in criminal courts. Political participation remains extremely marginal Main problem suffered by indigenous people in Mexico linked to land and territories, natural resources, administration of justice, internal displacement, bilingual education, language, migration and constitutional reforms.

History Pre-Columbian Civilizations – Mesoamerica (Olmec, Toltec, Aztec) Culture area in which several complex civilizations developed before the arrival of the Spanish – and Aridoamerica (The North) the arid region north of Tropic of Cancer which several civilizations developed and was mostly inhabited by nomadic or semi-nomadic groups.

Colonial After the Conquest of the Aztec Empire – indigenous people were forced to learn Latin letters. – Indigenous people became existing labor force

Independence from Spain After independence 1829 abolition of Black Slavery. Mexican Revolution – National sentiment that the indigenous people were the foundation of Mexican Society.

The Law of Linguistic Rights of the Indigenous Languages recognizes 62 indigenous languages as "national languages" which have the same validity as Spanish in all territories in which they are spoken. Approximately 6.7% of the population speaks an indigenous language.

According to the constitutional reform of 2001, the following rights of indigenous peoples are recognized: 1)acknowledgement as indigenous communities, right to self- ascription, and the application of their own regulatory systems preservation of their cultural identity, land, consultation and participation. 2)access to the jurisdiction to the state and to development recognition of indigenous peoples and communities as subject of public law 3)self-determination and self-autonomy Previously, indigenous people were not given rights because they were not recognized in an attempt to make one national identity for Mexico.

Rights of Indigenous Women Indigenous women are often taken advantage of because they are both women, indigenous, and often poor. Indigenous culture has been used as a pretext for Mexican government to enact laws that deny human rights to women such as the right to own land.

Additionally, violence against women has been regarded by the Mexican government as a cultural practice. The Mexican government has also enforced impunity of the exploitation of indigenous women by its own government including by the military

Current Event Ongoing Chiapas Conflict (1994 Zapatista Uprising) – Tensions between the indigenous people and subsistence farmers, in state of Chiapas – Started in Jan. 1994, lasted for less than 2 weeks, then crushed by government – Negotiations between gov and Zapatistas allowed parts of peace negotiations signed, which were not complied with in the following years. (negotiation includes recognizing the indigenous culture and its right to land and autonomy) – Resulted in an increasing division between people and communities with ties to government. 1997, Acteal massacre killed 45 people in village of Acteal by para-militaries. – Rebel activity continued a low level since, violence erupted occasionally between Zapatista supporter, anti-Zapatista militias and government. – The last related incident occurred in 2014, one Zapatista related teacher killed and 15 more wounded.

UN’s Action Nuvia Magdalena Mayorga Delgado (Director General of the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Mexico) – “strategies included improving access to justice, bolstering social development infrastructure in area like health and education and broadening participation in the planning and management of development efforts. Other efforts focused on economic development, including implementation of sustainable projects.