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Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Land Rights

During the time of colonization, when Spaniards arrived to a place where there was no European rule, they would take the land and the individuals on the land. Later on, they would benefit from these individuals through the use of encomienda.

The land of indigenous people is used for material reasons as well as spiritual reasons. Religious, cultural, social, spiritual, and other events relating to their identity are also tied to the land. Indigenous people use collective property so that the aforementioned services that the land provides are available to the entire community and future generations. This was a stark contrast to the viewpoints of colonists that saw the land purely in a economic way where land could be transferred between individuals.

Once the land of the indigenous people and therefore their livelihood was taken from them, they became dependent on those that had land and power. Additionally, the spiritual services that the land provided were no longer available and caused a deterioration of indigenous groups and cultures.

The second article of the constitution of Mexico recognizes and enforces the right of indigenous peoples and communities to self determination and therefore their autonomy to:

V. Preserve and improve their habitat as well as preserve the integrity of their lands in accordance with this constitution. VI. Be entitled to the estate and land property modalities established by this constitution and its derived legislation, to all private property rights and communal property rights as well as to use and enjoy in a preferential way all the natural resources located at the places which the communities live in, except those defined as strategic areas according to the constitution. The communities shall be authorized to associate with each other in order to achieve such goals.'

Under the Mexican government, some indigenous people had land rights under ejido and agrarian communities. Under ejidos, indigenous communities have usufruct rights of the land. Indigenous communities choose to do this when they do not have the legal evidence to claim the land. In 1992, shifts were made to the economic structure and ejidos could now be partitioned and sold. For this to happen, the PROCEDE program was established. The PROCEDE program surveyed, mapped, and verified the ejido lands. This privatization of land undermined the economic base of the indigenous communities much like the taking of their land during colonization.

Linguistic Rights

The history of linguistic rights in Mexico began when Spanish first made contact with Indigenous Languages during the colonial period. The Crown proclaimed Spanish to be the language of the empire; however, Indigenous Languages were used during conversion of individuals to Catholicism. Indigenous Languages were more widespread than Spanish at this time. After independence there was a shift to Spanish to legitimize the Mexican spanish created by the Mexican criollos. The nineteenth century brought with it programs to provide bilingual education at primary levels where they would eventually transition to Spanish only education. Linguistic uniformity was sought out to strengthen national identity; however, this left indigenous languages out of power structures.

In 1996 the San Andres Larraiza Accords were negotiated between the Zapatista Army of National Liberation and the Mexican government. The San Andres Accords did not explicitly state language but language was involved in matters involving culture and education.

In 2001, the constitution was change to acknowledge indigenous peoples and grant them protection under the Constitution of Mexico. The second article of the constitution of Mexico recognizes and enforces the right of indigenous peoples and communities to self determination and therefore their autonomy to:

Preserve and enrich their language, knowledge, and every part of their culture and identity.

In 2003, the General Law on Linguistic Rights of Indigenous People explicitly stated the protection of individual and collective linguistic rights of indigenous peoples. The final section also sanctioned the creation of a National Institute for Indigenous Languages.