Mexico City | Desinformémonos. “Contrary to the official narrative, despite the numerous events and celebrations held today by all levels of government, regardless of the political party in power, Indigenous children continue to live in poverty, exclusion, and discrimination,” the Supreme Indigenous Council of Michoacán (CSIM) stated on the occasion of Children’s Day in Mexico.
“We have nothing to celebrate, much less anything to applaud,” the Council asserted in its statement, in which it noted that 84.8 percent of the Indigenous population between the ages of three and 17 lives in poverty; and that 47.9 percent of Indigenous children live in extreme poverty, according to official data included in the 2016-2024 Multidimensional Poverty Report by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
Furthermore, the report emphasized that, based on the same data, 36.1 percent of Indigenous children live in situations of deprivation due to lack of access to nutritious and quality food; that 21.8 percent of the Indigenous underage population experience educational disadvantage; and that 55.5 percent of Indigenous children live in situations of deprivation due to lack of access to health services, while 40.5 percent live in situations of deprivation due to lack of quality housing and adequate living spaces.
Among the inequalities faced by Indigenous children, the CSIM included educational disadvantage, as the average for speakers of an Indigenous language is 6.3 years. According to the 2024 Diagnostic Study of the Right to Education, 46.4 percent of Indigenous children do not complete basic education, and only 9.4 percent of Indigenous youth are able to begin upper secondary and higher education, while 60.5 percent of the Indigenous population begins their working lives at age 12, according to data from the 2025 Indigenous World Report.
“In this context, the budget to strengthen public policies aimed at Indigenous children, instead of increasing, is decreasing, as exemplified by the reduction in the amount allocated to the ‘Indigenous Education Support Program’ within the Non-Sectorized Entities category, which suffered a 22 percent cut in the Cross-Cutting Annex of Resources for the Care of Children and Adolescents of the Federal Expenditure Budget between 2025 and 2026,” the Council denounced.
The Council authorities stated that Indigenous peoples and communities have a responsibility to fight for children, who, they explained, represent “our ancestral roots, the seed of our culture, our collective hope, and the fire of our peoples.”
“Dream big, Indigenous girls and boys, because our present is one of struggle, so that you may raise the banners of future victories,” the CSIM concluded.
The following is the full statement:
TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC AND OF MICHOACÁN
TO THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND COMMUNITIES
TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO AND MICHOACÁN
TO THE MEDIA
Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities of Michoacán, April 30th, 2026.
K’eri Kunkorhekua Iretecheri, the Supreme Indigenous Council of Michoacán #CSIM, an autonomous and independent council from governments, political parties, and religious institutions, made up of traditional authorities from 80 communities of the P’urhépecha, Otomí or Hñahñú, Matlazinca or Pirinda, Mazahua, Nahua, and Afro-Mexican Peoples, collectively declare the following:
Contrary to the official discourse, despite the numerous acts and celebrations carried out today by all levels of government, regardless of the political party in power, Indigenous children continue to live between poverty, exclusion, and discrimination, we have nothing to celebrate, much less anything to applaud.
In Mexico, according to their culture, 3.8 million people between the ages of 3 and 11 self-identify as Indigenous (Source: Expanded Questionnaire of the 2020 Population and Housing Census / INEGI), of whom 1 million speak an Indigenous language and 280,000 do not speak Spanish.
In our country, 84.8% of the Indigenous population between the ages of 3 and 17 lives in poverty; 47.9% of Indigenous children live in extreme poverty; 36.1% of Indigenous children lack access to nutritious and quality food; and 21.8% of Indigenous minors experience educational disadvantage. 55.5% of Indigenous children live in situations of deprivation due to lack of access to health services, and 40.5% of the Indigenous child population lives in situations of deprivation due to inadequate housing quality and space (Multidimensional Poverty 2016-2024/INEGI).
The average schooling for speakers of an Indigenous language is 6.3 years; 46.4% of Indigenous children do not complete basic education, and only 9.4% of Indigenous youth are able to begin upper secondary and higher education (Diagnostic Study of the Right to Education 2024/CONEVAL); on the other hand, 60.5% of the Indigenous population begins their working lives at age 12 or older (The Indigenous World 2025/IWGIA).
In this context, the budget for strengthening public policies aimed at Indigenous children, instead of increasing, is decreasing, as exemplified by the reduction in the amount allocated to the “Indigenous Education Support Program” within the Non-Sectorized Entities category, which suffered a 22% cut in the Cross-Cutting Annex of Resources for the Care of Children and Adolescents of the Federal Expenditure Budget between 2025 and 2026 (Situation of the Rights of Indigenous Children and Adolescents in Mexico /REDIM).
We, the Indigenous peoples and communities, have the responsibility to fight for our children, who represent our ancestral roots, the cultural seed, the collective hope, and the fire of our peoples.
“Dream big, Indigenous children, for our present is one of struggle, so that you may raise the banners of future victories.”
Supreme Indigenous Council of Michoacán #CSIM
Original article from Desinformémonos, April 30th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.