Document #1136715
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Please find attached several documents that
provide information on the rights and situation of indigenous
people in Mexico. Please note that most of these documents do not
focus on the situation in Chiapas, but rather discuss the general
situation of indigenous people throughout Mexico. Information on
the ongoing situation in Chiapas can be obtained at your Regional
Documentation Centre and from the DIRB upon further request.
The constitution of Mexico contains
numerous articles describing the rights of Mexicans (Apr. 1988).
However, references to rights exclusively attributed to indigenous
people could not be found in the document consulted by the
DIRB.
Please note that Mexico: A Country
Guide states in its chapter entitled "Native People" that
different things can be taken into consideration when "defining the
subtle frontier between Indians and non-Indians in Mexico (1993,
223). The attached document states that marriage between indigenous
and non-indigenous people has occurred for a long time, and
language is not necessarily an indicator of affiliation or a
person's perceived belonging to a native group (ibid.).
The attached excerpt from Democracy and
Human Rights in Mexico (May 1995) discusses briefly racial and
social attitudes, and provides a statistic on ethnic composition of
the country: approximately 60 per cent mestizo or "mixed
indigenous-Spanish," 30 per cent indigenous or predominantly
indigenous, and nearly 10 per cent white or predominantly white
(ibid., 40). The report refers also to some cases in which
indigenous activists or communities and individuals defending
indigenous populations have been victims of abuse (pp. 41-46).
The attached pages of the June 1994 issue
of Latin American Special Reports entitled "Indians: New
Factor on the Latin American Scene" discusses indigenous
populations and issues in Latin America, with various references to
Mexico.
The attached articles from Cultural
Survival refer mostly to the situation in southern Mexico,
including Chiapas. One was published in 1994; the other was
published in 1992, before the armed insurgency in Chiapas, and is
included for background information.
The attached section of a March 1994 report
from Americas Watch entitled "The Rebellion and Its Causes"
includes references to the general situation in rural Mexico. For
additional information on this and other specific issues, please
consult the documents attached to this Response.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
Cultural Survival [Cambridge,
MA.]. Spring 1994. Duncan Earle. "Indigenous Identity at the
Margin: Zapatismo and Nationalism."
_____. Spring 1992. June Nash and
Kathleen Sullivan. "Return to Porfirismo: The View From Mexico's
Southern Frontier Contradicts Headier Visions Propounded in Mexico
City or on the U.S. Border."
Flanz, Gisbert H. and Louise Moreno.
April 1988. "Mexico," Constitutions of the Countries of the
World. Edited by Albert P. Blaustein and Gisbert H. Flanz.
Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications.
Latin American Special Reports
[London, UK]. June 1994. "Indians: New Factor on the Latin American
Scene."
Mexico: A Country Guide. 1993.
Edited by Tom Barry. Albuquerque, N. Mex.: The Inter-Hemispheric
Education Resource Center.
News from Americas Watch [New
York]. 1 March 1994. Vol. 6, No. 3. "Mexico: The New Year's
Rebellion: Violations of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law During
the Armed Revolt in Chiapas, Mexico."
_____. October 1993. Vol. 5, No. 10.
"Mexico: Human Rights Watch/Americas Watch Writes to President
Clinton Urging Nafta Summit on Human Rights."
Reding, Andrew. May 1995. Democracy
and Human Rights in Mexico. New York: World Policy
Institute
Cultural Survival [Cambridge,
MA.]. Spring 1994. Duncan Earle. "Indigenous Identity at the
Margin: Zapatismo and Nationalism," pp. 26-30.
_____. Spring 1992. June Nash and
Kathleen Sullivan. "Return to Porfirismo: The View From Mexico's
Southern Frontier Contradicts Headier Visions Propounded in Mexico
City or on the U.S. Border," pp. 13-16.
InterPress Service. 17 February 1994.
"Indians Continue to Suffer Poverty and Discrimination." (Mexico
NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 14-27 Feb. 1994, p. 5)
La Jornada [Mexico City]. 1
November 1994. Manuel Enriquez Osorio. "State Police Formally
Accused in Torture and Death of Indians." (Mexico NewsPak
[Austin, Tex.] 24 Oct.-6 Nov. 1994, p. 6)
_____. 23 October 1994. "80 Percent of
Children Under Six Years Old Malnourished in Oaxaca." (Mexico
NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 24 Oct.-6 Nov. 1994, pp. 6-7)
_____. 18 August 1994. Teresa Garza.
"Indians Block Three Highways in Michoacan." (Mexico NewsPak
[Austin, Tex.] 15-28 Aug. 1994, p. 7)
_____. 20 March 1994. José Gil
Olmos et al. "Tzotzil Indians and Resident of San Juan Chamula
Demand Land." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 14-27 Mar.
1994, p. 7)
_____. 23 February 1994. "Tzeltal
Indians Occupy Ranches and Estates in Chiapas." (Mexico
NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 14-27 Feb. 1994, p. 6)
_____. 31 January 1994. Evangelina
Hernandez. "Indian Children Suffer From Malnutrition and Child
Labor." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 31 Jan.-13 Feb. 1994,
p. 9)
_____. 28 January 1994. David Aponte and
Jose Benitez. "Guerrero Police Commit Abuses Against Indians of La
Montaña." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 31 Jan.-13
Feb. 1994, pp. 8-9)
Latin American Regional Reports:
Mexico & NAFTA Report [London, UK]. 11 May 1995. "Indian
Areas: Constitutional Changes-Possibly," p. 5.
Latin American Special Reports
[London, UK]. June 1994. "Indians: New Factor on the Latin American
Scene," pp. 1-6, 8.
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 9
February 1995. "Mexico: Indian 'Economic Asylum'," p. 7.
_____. 13 May 1993. John Ross. "New
Mexican Law Dismantling 1910 Land Reforms," p. 3.
Mexico: A Country Guide. 1993.
Edited by Tom Barry. Albuquerque, N. Mex.: The Inter-Hemispheric
Education Resource Center, pp. 222-226.
News from Americas Watch [New
York]. 1 March 1994. Vol. 6, No. 3. "Mexico: The New Year's
Rebellion: Violations of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law During
the Armed Revolt in Chiapas, Mexico," pp. 3-7.
_____. October 1993. Vol. 5, No. 10.
"Mexico: Human Rights Watch/Americas Watch Writes to President
Clinton Urging Nafta Summit on Human Rights" pp. 12-14.
New York Times. 31 October 1994.
Anthony DePalma. "Dying Infants Witness to Proud People's Crisis."
(Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 24 Oct.-6 Nov. 1994, p.
7)
_____. 16 February 1994. Anthony
DePalma. "Mexico's Indians Heed Rumble of Distant Guns." (Mexico
NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 14-27 Feb. 1994, pp. 4-5)
Reding, Andrew. May 1995. Democracy
and Human Rights in Mexico. New York: World Policy Institute,
pp. 40-46.
San Antonio Express News [San
Antonio, Tex.]. 23 March 1994. Anita Snow. "Latest Victims
Mourned." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin, Tex.] 14-27 Mar. 1994,
pp. 6-7)