The indigenous issue is a big problem around the world. Wherever a colonialist power came, at some point in the past, to destroy the ancient indigenous order, the struggles of the survivors have never been fully solved. This can be said for almost any country in America (USA and Canada included), Australia, New Zealand, or even Tibet.
The problem is at the core of a true clash of civilizations. In Mexico for instance, the proud indigenous world came to an abrupt end when the Spanish conquerors arrived in the 16th century. Every social, economic and political structure was replaced by a new and completely different one. The Western approach to the universe, one that has the concepts of conquest and progress as pillars of that vision, was established on top of the old order. Sending the surviving indigenous people to the category of second-class citizens, giving birth to a de facto apartheid state.
According to Wikipedia "Mexico, in the second article of its Constitution, is defined as a "pluricultural" nation in recognition of the diverse ethnic groups that constitute it, and in which the indigenous peoples are the original foundation". Sadly, apart from some weak attempts to integrate the indigenous population into the modern Mexican state, indigenous people have been mostly persecuted or displaced for the last 500 years.
Now, the indigenous peoples of America seem to be waking up. Maybe inspired by the rhetoric of someone like the Sub-Comandante Marcos, maybe inspired by the success of indigenous people like Evo Morales in Bolivia, and Ollanta Humala in Peru, the reality is that all over the continent the indigenous cause is getting traction.
According to CNN, the Movimiento Indígena Nacional MIN (National Indigenous Movement) is asking the main political forces of Mexico to postulate indigenous candidates to Congress in 28 electoral districts where at least 40% of the population is indigenous. In Mexico there are 300 electoral districts in total.
That’s roughly a 10% ratio, which is proportional to the 10% of indigenous population in the whole country.
For centuries, the excuse for the modern states to ignore the pleas of the indigenous people was that they weren’t interested in getting involved in the new order of things. They were too nostalgic of their proud past and they just wanted to be left alone. That was true in many cases, but now they are asking to be represented in the Congress of Mexico, a country that is supposed to be a representative democracy.
It’s hard to argue against their reasoning.
