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000056 Visit since
| Profile of the Indigenous People
of Mexico
Chapter 8 - Social Development- Part 10th and
last part. |
by Prof. German Estrada
May 4, 2003 |
52. There is a clear
correlation between these indicators and the indigenous
population and their level of marginality, especially
in rural municipalities where the indigenous peoples
show the highest degree of marginality. This marginality
is considered to be a structural phenomenon, the result
of development over the last four decades, resulting
in the exclusion of the indigenous population from the
process which permits the satisfaction of their basic
needs (Alexis Panagides, Indigenous People and Poverty
in Latin America).
The 1990 Census shows that 96 percent
of the indigenous people live in municipalities with
marginality rankings of high and very high and 41 percent
of these live in very high marginality. The seven states
with the highest incidence of poverty are: Chiapas,
Oaxaca, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Veracruz, San Luis Potosi,
and Puebla, which coincide with the indigenous municipalities
of highest marginality.
53. An example is
the state of Veracruz that has important natural resources
and developed areas. It is classified as a state of
high marginality due to the presence of the indigenous
population. One of its municipalities, Tehuipango, with
a Nahua population in the Zongolica Sierra is the most
marginal in the country.
54. Examining these
indicators might lead to think that the indigenous communities
are static traditional societies resistant to change
and defending ways of life that are separate from the
national population. This is false. The indigenous peoples
are intimately tied to the economic and social changes
in the country. Their poverty and marginality is the
result of their systematic exclusion due to cultural
prejudices.
55. To mitigate
and improve this condition of high marginality it is
necessary to reorient the programs that are targeted
to this population which is to say, the acceptance of
the fact that the indigenous peoples are holistic and
integral social systems with their own forms of government.
They have operated for over 500 years as such. Health,
education and production problems can be solved with
the integration and participation of the indigenous
population but it is required that their own forms of
organization and government be recognized and accepted
as well as their self-recognized needs. Many of these
groups and their representative organizations indicate
that they are not willing to pay for development with
the loss of their soul, which is their culture.
56. The economists’
views of indigenous peoples represent an obstacle to
their development and to the country’s development.
It is the wrong paradigm because industrialized nations,
even with great changes, have maintained their own cultures
and identities. It is this that the indigenous peoples
have been demanding over the last 20 years, and is reflected
in their economy, agricultural systems, and artisan
tradition.
57. To measure marginality
in terms of the CONAPO indicators leads only to a partial
recognition of the problems confronting these peoples.
In the majority of their communities the lack of basic
services is the norm. Yet, the quality of life measurement
transcends the indicators. There are indigenous areas
with natural resources that allow sustainability and
continuity but where the last ten years agricultural
policies have resulted in highly negative impacts. The
main problems are those of a lack of agricultural credit
for sustainable production, assistance in marketing,
and respect for local forms of government.
58. According
to an anthropological analysis, three basic and fundamental
differences exist between indigenous and industrialized
societies.
| TRADITIONAL SOCIETIES |
INDUSTRIALIZED SOCIETIES |
| Subsistence based
economies. |
Decline in subsistence-based
activities for industrialization. |
| Maintenance of a communal organization
with traditional forms of authority and governance
linked with communal forms of appropriation of land
and use of surpluses for communalritual life. |
Tendency to individualism and privatization
of land and income and individually based consumption. |
| Goods and services exchanged in traditional
markets and reciprocity at the family and community
levels |
Individual competition and exchanges
based on monetary transactions and low levels of
social reciprocity. |
Source: Mexican Government Institutions
(SEDESOL)
Next Week: Chapter 9 on POLITICAL
MOVEMENTS
gestrada@pvnet.com.mx
Prof. Germán
Estrada is the author of the best selling book,
"México
Mágico: Everything You Wanted To Know
About... But Nobody Told You..." available in Puerto
Vallarta at The Net House, Mail Boxes, Etc., Books,
Books as well as directly from the author by internet.
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