Mayan Marginalization In Mexico

Mayan Marginalization In Mexico

By: Ethan Kang, Tyler Potsiadlo, and Jayden Yan

Course Themes:

What conditions are necessary to end armed conflict and build a sustainable peace?

Illustrate the dilemma between a nation state's self immediate self interest and long term enlightened self interest that considers the welfare of other nations and of future generations. 

For hundreds of years, Mayans have been marginalized by the Spanish and Mexican governments. The Spanish, who took over the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan in 1521, asserted their control over Mexico for almost 300 years, until the Mexican war of Independence, a ten year long conflict starting in 1810, would drive them out. When Mexico became a federal republic in 1824, the government continued to wipe out Mayans and their culture. The Caste war would bathe the Yucatan Peninsula, a heavily indigenous region in Mexico, in blood between 1847 and 1901, ending with all the Mayan territory being taken. The failure to satisfy Mayans' demands bit the government back in 1910, with the Mexican revolution, causing the current leader, Porfirio Diaz who had crushed the Mayans years back, to be overthrown. After many leaders being overthrown, and many elections, Mayans still hadn't received their human rights until 1934, when Lazaro Cardenas redistributed 70,000 acres of land back to peasants, strengthened labor Unions, and nationalized Mexico's oil industry. 

     In 1994, the Mayans fought back again, this time led by the EZLN, or Zapatista fighters. A war lasting 11 days but with over 300 dead was fought in Chiapas, near the Yucatan, but Mayans wouldn't be satisfied until 2001, when the government wrote a law requiring the self determination and autonomy of the Mayans. Mayans are still not satisfied to this day, but an apology ceremony by Andres Obrador and his government helped. Interior Secretary Olga Sanchez Caldero also apologized, but the apology by the president, a vocal activist for indigenous rights, and his administration was likely done now because elections in Mexico are coming up. To this day, Mayans don't benefit from the money the many tourist attractions built by Mayans, and much of the land is forcefully taken by the Mexican government. Such actions destroy the region and its history for future generations of Mayans, many of whom lived on that land and think of it as their homeland. It is a horrid example of the failure to accept indigenous peoples, who make up 15% of the Mexican population. 

Luis Obrador's tourist train, called "Tren Maya" will run though the Rivera Maya region, which is a native land. This shows the Mexican government's failure to recognize Mayans as people living in a democracy like other Mexicans. The president is a man from Tabasco, a Mayan region of Mexico. This highlights the Mexican government's failure to recognize its native population and its needs. 

This is not a new problem, but it may not be solved in just decades. There are many examples of a failure to end armed conflicts against natives, such as those in Argentina, Australia, and right here in the Midwest. Natives around the world may never be on the same level as their conquerors. 

Discussion Questions: 

1: Does the Mexican government’s apology hold any meaning?

2: What happens when a nation refuses to address a problem, and tries to resolve it later on when tensions have already grown?

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19828041

https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/news-item/the-zapatista-movement-the-fight-for-indigenous-rights-in-mexico/

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/whp-origins/era-7-the-great-convergence-and-divergence-1880-ce-to-the-future/71-world-war-1-betaa/a/read-the-mexican-revolution-beta

https://thehill.com/policy/international/americas/551687-mexico-apologizes-to-indigenous-maya-for-centuries-of-abuse

https://www.nps.gov/trte/learn/historyculture/index.htm

https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/conquest-desert

https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-War

https://www.panoramas.pitt.edu/health/mexicos-indigenous-population-continues-face-high-rates-poverty

ttps://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/mexicos-apology-to-indigenous-maya-people-progress-or-political-show/ar-BB1go2w0

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Flauraaloveland.blogspot.com%2F2019%2F03%2Fthe-indigenous-maya-of-mexico-and.html&psig=AOvVaw1pOZOp5g_t87ZwSVGGP7AV&ust=1620944195844000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCLDV0-mVxfACFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD (image)