A child writes in Tsotsil and Tseltal at a primary school in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas. ELIZABETH RUIZ (CUARTOSCURO)
When Mexican Secretary of Culture Claudia Curiel attended President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference last Friday, she was carrying a promise for Indigenous peoples. Curiel announced that, together with the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI), the government will implement the so-called Indigenous Education Program, which, among other actions, will bring artistic and cultural development to children in the Sierra Tarahumara in Chihuahua and Durango, to the Purépecha region of Michoacán, to the mountains of Guerrero, and to Oaxaca. This initiative aims to address the significant gaps suffered by these communities in a country where education seems to be prohibited for Indigenous peoples: four out of ten do not attend school. “It’s a historical problem,” says Carolina Sánchez García, director of the University Program for the Study of Cultural Diversity and Interculturality at UNAM. “The gap has persisted because the response to these populations has not been sufficient,” she notes.
Mexican authorities maintain a public discourse of admiration for indigenous populations, promoting their traditions, supporting their artisanal production, and even respecting the controversial unwritten norms called “usos y costumbres” (uses and customs) that regulate life in these communities. However, in practice, their residents have faced enormous public disdain in addressing their needs. The indicators are alarming, as they show that nine out of ten indigenous language speakers experienced at least one social need in 2020, representing 94% of the country’s indigenous population, according to the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL). This same institution reveals that eight out of ten people who reported speaking an indigenous language are living in poverty (76.8%), 80.9% lack social security, and 67.4% lack basic housing services. Regarding education, let alone the situation: the most recent data show that four out of ten people (47.0%) do not attend school.
“When one reviews the statistics on the conditions, in this case the education of the indigenous population, the figures are worrying. There is a problem related to several factors, including the conditions of poverty and marginalization that still prevail in several indigenous communities,” says Sánchez García. Poverty prevents parents from sending their children to school, especially if there is no school in their community, because traveling to other places entails a cost they cannot afford. There is also the issue of the precariousness of the infrastructure, because according to a report by the National Institute of Physical Educational Infrastructure, 31% of schools have structural damage, 45% lack sewage disposal, 23% lack potable water, and 3% have no electricity. Internet is a luxury: 69% do not have this service.
During her trips to indigenous communities, President Sheinbaum has promised scholarships for students and support for women, mothers, and homemakers, but the aid seems insufficient given the enormous neglect these populations have suffered for centuries. Statistics from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) show that an estimated 12 million people live in indigenous homes in the country, and more than seven million speak an indigenous language. 45.5% of this total population lives in three states: Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Veracruz, followed by Puebla, Yucatán, and Guerrero. It is no coincidence that these are the poorest states in Mexico. The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) shows that almost 20% of the country’s indigenous population is illiterate, equivalent to 1.3 million people, meaning two out of every ten people cannot read or write.
The COVID-19 pandemic and cuts in social assistance also hit these communities hard. The organization Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in poor regions of Chiapas. The results revealed a complex scenario: 45% of the children benefiting from the Prospera social program, canceled by order of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, were unable to continue their studies and had to drop out during the health emergency. Prospera provided funds to the neediest families on the condition that they send their children to school and for medical checkups. The program was replaced by the Scholarships for Well-being, which provides 800 pesos per month per family.
The country has laws that protect the rights of indigenous populations, but statistics show that these laws have only remained on paper. If attending school is a feat, higher education is a nearly unattainable dream: only 17% of school-age people from indigenous communities attend university. “It is necessary to promote an educational policy that eradicates this backwardness that currently exists in all indigenous areas of the country,” recommends Sánchez García of UNAM, an academic institution that offers scholarships for indigenous students to complete their studies.
The expert affirms that a public education strategy must begin with a thorough study of the situation in indigenous communities, address the lack of infrastructure, and increase coverage so that children in the most remote communities are not left out of school. In addition, it must find alternatives to eradicate child labor. “Over many years, projects have been implemented that are often not in line with reality. What is needed is current and reliable knowledge to be able to promote a policy that allows this situation to be eradicated. We must review everything that has been done to date and determine what the strategy will be to promote a policy that truly achieves this change,” recommends Sánchez García.
Original article by Carlos S. Maldonado, El País, March 17th, 2025.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.