Segregation and Oblivion Who are the indigenous people of Mexico? How many? What makes a Native Indian? How should we call them, indigenous or Indian?
To begin, we need to talk about so-called non-indigenous groups in our country who have ideas about Indians sometimes wrong and prevent them from knowing and valuing each other's cultures. On the other hand, another factor that influences the discrimination laws are and the government have also set these groups from outside, creating different institutions and policies to deal with various aspects of their lives.
Now, use the term indigenous, which means "from a country" in its most conceptual, but also has many cultural meanings economic and political, this is the one officially used in the laws and institutions our country and has no derogatory load, unfortunately, in some circles are associated with the term Indian, it was given to the original inhabitants by the English conquistadors in the sixteenth century.
XVI century after all aboriginal peoples were grouped under the category of "Indians" and forced to work for the English and to pay special tribute to the Crown.
When we hear the word Indian or indigenous immediately spring to mind images and ideas that often reflect our own prejudices and ignorance about the realities and cultures of these groups. We envision Indians as a "minority" that is clearly different from the mestizos, who supposedly represent the "majority" of Mexicans. This concept puts the Indians in a subordinate position, as defined not in terms of themselves, but their differences with other Mexicans, so they say that the existence of this "minority" Indian is a "problem" for Mexico, which must be "solved" by integrating the Indians into the nation, ie, making their culture, their language and their ways of life to conform to the standard defined by the mestizos. This concept is a bit simplistic because on one hand, to conceive the Indians as a minority, unifies each other from their differences with the mestizos, but forgets that this country has more than 62 different ethno-linguistic groups and there are great differences between them.
Another general view of the Mexican Indians is with respect to economic and social marginalization. Already said before that when we hear Indian word pictures that come to mind are those of men, women, elderly and impoverished children, whether they live in isolated rural communities and backward, "as they have lived for centuries, or who have migrated to cities to work in domestic service, manual labor or begging in the streets. That is why in our society the word Indian is usually associated with the stigma of poverty, backwardness and ignorance.
Historically speaking with the arrival of the English we can say that they were given other beliefs but also with the arrival of the "independence" of Mexico returned to radically change the rules for indigenous peoples and that instead of supporting these people what happened on the contrary, the birth of so-called Mexican nation-state proclaimed the equality of all its inhabitants, which in theory should benefit the Indians called the Book of inferior status who had undergone during the colonial period, however this did not happen.
In the nineteenth century liberal groups searched the country to develop economically under a capitalist system, began the great plunder of Indian lands throughout the country particularly in the more fertile and populated regions, and imposed a "English" as the national language, ie, all education is taught in English, the laws were written in it, the courts, government offices, congress, newspapers and books, he was employed in the same language. This language policy openly discriminates against the majority of the population. The process of mixing in modern Mexico has been a process of cultural change and identity promoted by the State.
exploded in the twentieth century conflict with the laws imposed in the last century and this genre that different groups of peasants and indigenous people in many different regions of the country took up arms fighting for the restitution of the lands of their communities, which were the basis of their survival as human groups, therefore, the constitution of 1917 officially recognized in Article 27 the existence of community property in country in the form of the ejido.
governance systems of indigenous communities live together, cooperate and sometimes are faced with federal state and municipal governments as the power in the communities is not only in their own authorities. Different peoples have different ways of interacting with external authorities, depending on the history of their relations with the government and its features regional.
Since 1992, the Oaxaca state government recognized the right of indigenous communities to elect their local authorities by the system of "customary", ie according to their own methods and traditions and not necessarily through political parties as in the non-indigenous municipalities, this has meant a strengthening of the charges, although, as we shall see, there are areas that require new forms of political participation. Especially the women (women have changed their position in the community have had to take care of tasks that were once exclusive to men, from planting the corn to exercise the charges and participate in community assemblies). However, not all indigenous peoples of Oaxaca and other states use the system and customs.
We can also say that there are several communities in the region of the Lacandon Jungle, Chiapas, who have supported the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), municipalities have become "autonomous" Though constitutionally recognized not seek to govern themselves them in accordance with the rules and community values. In addition to marking a political position in favor of indigenous autonomy, which they seek with the autonomous municipalities is to end the neglect they have been subject communities by their main towns, which are remote and are in the hands of other groups.
This issue is a bit long but to conclude, for now, I can tell you that one painful and obvious reality of indigenous peoples is their marginalization and poverty. On average, indigenous people are poorer than the rest of the Mexicans and their wages (when they have them) are lower. They also have less education than others, men and, especially, indigenous women are illiterate and have less access to health services. It is also greater the number of Indian households do not have electricity or potable water drainage. In short, in almost all indicators of living standards and human development Indians are below the rest of the population. This marginalization and poverty has profound roots, both internal and external indigenous societies as a result of its relationship with the rest of Mexican society, and particularly with non-indigenous groups living in their regions.
The main cause of the indigenous marginalization has been, for centuries, discrimination, exploitation and plunder. Even before the arrival of the English, the most powerful indigenous groups dominated and exploited the work of the weakest, as well as deprive them of their best land.
These centuries of discrimination and exploitation have profoundly influenced the economic, social and geographical situation of indigenous peoples.
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