Indigenismo in Mexico
Indigenismo is a Latin American nationalist political ideology that began in the late nineteenth century and persisted throughout the twentieth that attempted to construct the role of Indigenous populations in the nation-state.
Prior to the Revolution, under the presidency of Liberal General Porfirio Diaz, from Oaxaca and himself having indigenous antecedents, his policy makers, known as Cientificos ("scientists") were influenced by French Positivism and Social Darwinism and thinkers such as Herbert Spencer.
[1] Porfirian state development policies implemented laws of the Liberal Reform passed in the 1850s, which included dispossessing rural lands, particularly indigenous community lands under the Lerdo Law; collective indigenous groups being integrated as individuals by coercion, and expanding rural education aimed at creating a reliable workforce.
[1] In the aftermath of the Revolution the new government incorporated indigenismo as an official ideology into the 1917 Constitution, which claimed to strive for the emancipation of previously exploited indigenous peoples through integration into the Mexican state.
In his 1915 book Forjando Patria (Forging a Nation) he advocated for the study of indigenous groups in order to determine which cultural traits to preserve and which to improve in order to create a unified nationalist state[1][2] Gamio stated that indigenous people have the same intellectual capability and that their perceived cultural inferiority is a product of their history of oppression and current disadvantaged environment.
With improved education and living conditions, he believed indigenous groups would accept acculturation and "embrace contemporary culture"[3] Gamio was instrumental in directing his young nephew, Miguel León-Portilla, who went on to be a leading authority on Nahua thought and history, to study Nahuatl with Ángel María Garibay.
[4] While the first decade of revolutionary presidencies of Venustiano Carranza (1917–1920), Adolfo de la Huerta (1920), Álvaro Obregón (1920–1924), and Plutarco Elías Calles (1924–1928) saw the start of change in terms of improving education and land reform these administrations still saw indigenous populations as an obstacle to progress and their policies were geared toward modernizing and improving indigenous populations to fit into civilized national culture.
[6] When Lázaro Cárdenas of the southern Mexican state of Michoacán became president in 1934, land reform in Mexico again became a high priority.
During the Revolution, indigenous images were used as official nationalist symbols and after the revolution the government continued to use indigenous symbols to establish the roots of Mexican culture and identity within the physical nation state[8] Vasconcelos was appointed to be head of the cultural development program under Obregón, and began to commission artists to create national artwork supported by the revolutionary government, specifically focused on large public works that were visible and accessible to the people in order to solidify the national identity.
[8] The aspects of indigeneity that were depicted were selectively chosen as those most appealing such as the calm, campesino life and traditional crafts, dance, and popular folklore.
Garibay and his student Miguel León-Portilla published works by Aztec poets written down in the colonial era as alphabetic texts.
As the Mexican government supported expressions indigenismo, the establishment of Nahuatl literature with scholarly standing has been seen an integral part of that nationalist state-sponsored project.
After observing the economic and educational struggles experienced by indigenous communities on his presidential campaign tour and his experience as governor of Michoacan prior to becoming president, Cárdenas stated that it was the government's responsibility to help indigenous peoples become modern citizens of Mexico at a speech in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas on February 25, 1934.
[15] In that speech, he promised to "convert [the Indians] into men capable of intellectual development, and an active economic force struggling for the advancement of their race.
[15] The first director of the DAI was Graciano Sánchez, who had worked to supplant local agrarian leagues in Tamaulipas in favor of peasant organizations connected to Cárdenas's confederation of campesinos.
These intermediaries brought Indian complaints to federal agencies regarding ejido grants and limits, irrigation and other water rights, issues of real importance for indigenous communities.
The failure has been attributed to the delay in the creation of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in 1939, which stagnated the progress of the DAAI.
[22] To improve the economic conditions in rural areas, Cárdenas distributed an average of 22 hectares to 811,157 people from 1928–1940, which was more than all his predecessors combined for the purpose of creating communal farms or Ejidos.
Saenz was an active proponent that cultural pluralism was the only way to accomplish integration of indigenous groups into the national identity as citizens.
[15] While his administration made unprecedented attempts to respect ethnic pluralism, its goal remained political, social, and economic integration of the indigenous population.
[15] Early in his term, Echeverría initiated Plan Huicot to implement his promise of committing federal resources to the development of indigenous communities.
[15] The original agenda of the conference specifically included the discussion of land reform and the integration of marginalized ethnic groups as well as generally attaining indigenous economic, social, and political rights.
[15] The final demands of the indigenous delegates to Echeverría included improved distribution of land and resources, improved infrastructure for travel and medical care, the nationalization of agricultural industries, access to credit, fair rates for artisan products, bilingual and bicultural education for all ages, and gender equality.
Enacting self-determination meant a voluntary incorporation by indigenous peoples into national society as Mexican citizens[15] After the reading of the document, Echeverría assured the Congress of his administrations commitment to ending marginalization of the indigenous populations and distributed resolutions giving 1 million hectares to 23,736 Indian families as well as certificates of recognition.
The Departamento de Asuntos Indígenas (DAI), established by Cárdenas in 1936, maintained the country for indigenous people, and the intent of indigenista policies disinterested Mexicans generally.
[26] A number of urban Mexicans opposed to the government's indigenista projects began framing their opposition to them in terms of eugenics, attributing the situation of the indigenous as due to heredity.
A 1936 editorial in the Mexico City newspaper Excelcior stated "The Mendelian theory of inheritance serves as a basis of vigorously opposing the humanitarian work of the Government.
The norms of the contemporary Indians have been passed from parents to their children as a sacred trust, and it is no simple task to remove these obstacles.
Along with other Mexican anthropologists Bonfil Batalla criticized Indigenismo's attempt to "incorporate the Indian, that is, de-Indianize him"[28] and trying to create a mestizo national identity.
The real Mexico or "México Profundo" is made up of the large groups of individuals and communities who are still culturally tied to the Mesoamerican civilization.
