SEP introduces a new family of Free Textbooks in 20 national indigenous languages. Image Credit: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indigenas.
INPI Mexico

Reform for Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples: A Step Towards Social Justice

Soledad Quartucci

Reform for Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples: A Step Towards Social Justice

On International Mother Language Day, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador stressed that the initiative to reform Article 2 of the Constitution ensures the rights of indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities in the country, reported the Presidency of Mexico in a press release.

 

 

Initiative for indigenous and Afro-Mexican reform is an act of social justice: INPI. Image Credit: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indigenas.

 

During a morning press conference, Adelfo Regino Montes, the Director General of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI), explained that the main focus of this modification — proposed by the Executive Power on February 5 — is the recognition of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities as subjects of public law, as well as the establishment of legal personality and their own heritage through free self-determination.

 

 

The cornerstone of the Constitutional Reform initiative is the recognition of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities as subjects of public law with legal personality and their own heritage, in Article 2. Image Credit: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indigenas.

 

 

In this way, he said, they will have the capacity to exercise their rights by themselves, without any intermediation, and make decisions in their assemblies, which will be respected by the government and society.

 

 

Presentation of the new family of Free Textbooks in 20 National Indigenous Languages: Progress, Challenges, and Perspectives at the University of Indigenous Languages of Mexico.Image Credit: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indigenas.

 

 

Presentation of the new family of Free Textbooks in 20 National Indigenous Languages: Progress, Challenges, and Perspectives at the University of Indigenous Languages of Mexico.Image Credit: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indigenas.

 

 

Explaining the content and scope of the proposal, the official mentioned that it is the result of a dialogue and consultation process with indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples held from 2019 to 2021.

 

“It is very important to highlight that here lies the word of the indigenous authorities and representatives who participated in this process. (…) We affirm that this reform is an act of humanity, it is an act of basic social justice, it is a constitutive element of the Fourth Transformation of the Republic,” he emphasized.

 

 

Indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples will be able to appoint and choose their authorities in assemblies with full legal validity; carry out works and provide public services for community welfare; receive and manage public resources directly; and defend their collective rights before legal instances and other authorities.

 

 

SEP introduces a new family of Free Textbooks in 20 national indigenous languages. Image Credit: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indigenas.

 

 

Currently, the Constitution and laws recognize them as objects of public interest, that is, they are treated as objects of protection, guardianship, and assistance from government norms, policies, and actions.

The Executive’s proposal suggests strengthening areas and mechanisms for the exercise of self-determination and autonomy in:

  • Forms of government and social organization: Indigenous jurisdiction and the capacity of their authorities to exercise it.
  • Cultural heritage, indigenous languages, and collective intellectual property: This will prevent plagiarism in artisanal designs.
  • Participation in the construction of educational models.
  • Traditional medicine and recognition of those who practice it.
  • Integral development.
  • Consultation and consent.
  • Habitat, biocultural diversity, integrity of their lands, and sacred places.

 

 

 

Within the framework of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032), the Indigenous And Afro Mexican Reform proposes to ensure and strengthen indigenous, intercultural, and multilingual education. Image Credit: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indigenas.

 

 

The head of the INPI recalled that President López Obrador issued a decree on August 9, 2023, recognizing sacred sites and pilgrimage routes of the Huichol, Cora, Tepehuano, and Mexicanero peoples from Jalisco, Nayarit, Durango, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas.

 

 

Preservation of the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples is a priority for the Government of Mexico: SEP. Image Credit: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indigenas.

 

 

In order to make these rights a reality, the State will have the following obligations:

  • Promote community and regional development through justice plans. Currently, there are 17 throughout the country.
  • Allocate budget that indigenous peoples and communities can manage and exercise directly.
  • Protect cultural heritage and collective intellectual property, as well as guarantee indigenous, intercultural, and multilingual education.
  • Provide health services with cultural relevance and recognition of traditional medicine. Ensure the rights of indigenous women and Afro-Mexicans.
  • Build and expand communication routes, artisanal roads, broadcasting, telecommunications, and the internet.
  • Recognize the organizational forms of indigenous residents and migrants, particularly in urban contexts, as well as their connection to their communities of origin.
  • Hold consultations for administrative and legislative acts.

 

The federation, the federative entities, and the municipalities must create a general law that establishes the norms and mechanisms that ensure respect for and exercise of indigenous rights; harmonize the constitutions and laws of the federative entities to ensure recognition as subjects of public law and execute administrative modifications with the aim of adapting them to the reform.

 

 

The Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Reform guarantees the communication network through the construction and expansion of communication routes, artisanal roads, broadcasting, telecommunications, and the internet, as well as the right to indigenous, community, and intercultural communication. Image Credit: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indigenas.

 

 

The Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Reform guarantees the communication network through the construction and expansion of communication routes, artisanal roads, broadcasting, telecommunications, and the internet, as well as the right to indigenous, community, and intercultural communication. Image Credit: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indigenas.

 

 

The Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Reform guarantees the communication network through the construction and expansion of communication routes, artisanal roads, broadcasting, telecommunications, and the internet, as well as the right to indigenous, community, and intercultural communication. Image Credit: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indigenas.

 

 

The constitutional proposal also contemplates the creation of a Section D, in order to recognize and guarantee the rights of indigenous and Afro-Mexican women to participation and decision-making, education, health, property, land ownership, and other human rights.

Additionally, the section recognizes and guarantees the strengthening of the rights of indigenous children, adolescents, and youth to education, health, technology, art, culture, sports, and vocational training in their own languages.

The federal government recognizes Mexico as a pluricultural, multiethnic nation with 70 indigenous peoples and the Afro-Mexican people throughout the national territory.

 

 

The recognition of their inalienable rights and the treatment as subjects of public law, under their free determination and autonomy, is a historical aspiration of the communities. Image Credit: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indigenas.

 

 

There are 68 indigenous languages with 364 variants; 7.3 million speakers of indigenous languages; 23 million people identify as indigenous and 2.5 million people self-identify as Afro-Mexican.

“It is the face of the cultural, linguistic, and ethnic diversity of our country,” noted the director of the INPI.

“It puts into practice the premise that has illuminated us, that has guided us in this government, that for the good of all, first the poor, the most humble and forgotten, especially our indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples,” he added.

The Ministry of the Interior, Luisa María Alcalde Luján, added that this is a fundamental reform that will be discussed in the Congress of the Union for analysis and, if appropriate, approval for the benefit of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples.

Together with the President of the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED), Claudia Olivia Morales Reza, the Director General of the INPI presented the Chief Executive with a copy of the Indigenous Mexico magazine, which will serve as a means of disseminating the reform.

 

 

 

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Soledad Quartucci | CEO/Founder, Latina Republic

Latina Republic is dedicated to promoting regional understanding through compelling narratives, articles, interviews, and reports that emanate from the heart of the Americas. Our foremost goal is to facilitate constructive dialogue by illuminating local viewpoints frequently overshadowed by mainstream media. Our mission is to equip all stakeholders with essential insights for addressing regional issues, thus empowering them in their efforts. We are committed to portraying the victories and hardships of everyday life in Latin America, while also chronicling the progression of social movements and amplifying the voices of those at the forefront of change.

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