Inequality in Indigenous and Afro-Mexican populations. Multiple Dimensions in the Configuration of Social Inequality

In Mexico, a multicultural country, social inequalities are manifested in disparities in access to resources, opportunities, services, and power, determined by social class, gender, ethnicity, religion, and age. The aim of this text is to highlight some of the asymmetries that affect the groups that are part of the culturally diverse fabric of Mexican society. In particular, ethnic-cultural factors are considered in relation to the production and reproduction of inequalities (Reygadas, 2007), focusing the analysis on two populations that are part of this fabric: the indigenous peoples of Mexico—who, according to the 2023 data from the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (INEGI), total 39.2 million people identifying as indigenous—and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities—which the same source estimates at around 2.5 million people.

Afro-Mexican people and communities
Picture: DGDC UNAM / Arturo Orta, 2012

Throughout history, both populations have faced obstacles in fully exercising their economic, political, social, and cultural rights, despite the changes made to the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States in 2002 and 2019, which recognize the multicultural nature of Mexico, stemming from the presence of the indigenous population and people from Afro-Mexican towns and communities. This text analyzes the multiple faces of inequality affecting these populations, revisiting the concept of the “social inequality matrix” proposed by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to identify the multiple dimensions that shape inequality, as well as its expressions in income, types of employment, and deficiencies in key areas of social development such as education, health, and housing, among others (ECLAC, 2016); these conditions translate into marginalization, low social development, and persistent poverty, sustained by power structures that reproduce and perpetuate them.

Various studies (Abramo, 2019; Freyermuth Enciso, 2010; Jusidman, 2009; Ordóñez Barba, 2018; Sesia, 2011) agree that these populations exhibit high levels of social inequality compared to the rest of society. The World Bank (https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/indigenouspeoples) emphasizes the poverty situation in which they live, in line with the National Council of Population (CONAPO) 2020 data, which report “high” and “very high” levels of marginalization in the municipalities where these groups reside; additionally, they face situations that worsen their condition, among which the World Bank identifies the following:
Meanwhile, the National Council of Evaluation of Social Development Policies (CONEVAL) (2025) reported that in 2018 and 2022 the indigenous population living in poverty, according to household identification criteria, was 70.3 and 65.2 percent, respectively. Other studies indicate that Afro-Mexican populations face similar conditions (Bustelo, Frisancho, Viollaz, 2023), which aligns with data from INEGI reporting 45.8 percent poverty in rural areas for this population. These figures reflect historical social inequalities that are evident in the multiple asymmetries in access to social development resources: “differences transform into hierarchies and asymmetrical access to all kinds of resources” (Reygadas, 2007).

Afro-Mexican people and communities
Picture: Gaceta UNAM, 2025

EDUCATION
In the education sector, significant deficiencies persist for Indigenous and Afro-Mexican populations, in contrast to the rest of society. In 2023, INEGI reported that 19.1 percent of the Indigenous population aged fifteen and older was illiterate, compared to 2.8 percent of the non-Indigenous population in the same age group. Across the country, the average level of schooling for the Indigenous population aged fifteen and older was 6.5 grades, while for the non-Indigenous population it was 10.6 grades; this trend was consistent when comparing data between men and women. Regarding school attendance, data from the 2023 National Survey of Demographic Dynamics (ENADID) revealed that 23.7 percent of the Indigenous population aged three to seventeen did not attend school, compared to thirteen percent of non-Indigenous people.

Conecta Nayarit Project at the “Chuisetyana” Indigenous Primary School and the “Tuakamuta” Indigenous Preschool in Jesús María, municipality of Nayarit
Picture: Servicios de Educación Pública del Estado de Nayarit (SEPEN)

Regarding the Afro-Mexican population, in 2020 INEGI recorded an average schooling of 9.8 years, that is, they only completed the secondary education level. Of this population, 31.3 percent of individuals aged fifteen and older had at least one higher education degree; 26.2 percent had one at the upper secondary level, and 24.3 percent had one at the secondary level. When comparing these figures with those of the indigenous population, it is observed that the latter shows greater lag. Nevertheless, both populations have limited access to education compared to the general population. This same trend is mirrored in Latin America. Reygadas (2007) highlights the lack of social development resources that affect the indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples of the region, noting that “they are at a disadvantage [...] in various economic, educational, and social indicators,” which underscores the role of ethno-cultural factors in the production and reproduction of inequalities. This situation constitutes an expression of ethnic discrimination (Jusidman, 2009; Abramo, 2019) and can also be considered racial discrimination in terms of Campos (2012): “people are [...] discriminated against and their access to goods is limited, thereby affecting their social conditions, contrary to what happens with other groups of people.” The unequal distribution of resources, supported by social systems and power structures, particularly impacts the quality of life of people with ethnic-cultural traits, generates poverty, and hinders the construction of a more just, inclusive, and democratic society (Abramo, 2019).

Workshop: From the navel to the earth
Picture: David Sánchez, Secretaría de Cultura

ECONOMY: WORK AND INCOME
In the economic sphere, inequalities are manifested in the limited opportunities to access income distribution, opportunities, and active participation in economic life. These imbalances particularly affect indigenous peoples and Afro-Mexican communities, as evidenced by data on their economic participation and the low wages they receive compared to the rest of Mexican society.

The economic participation of the indigenous population was 64.6 percent, higher than the 61.8 percent of the non-indigenous population. In the case of the Afro-Mexican population, this variable reached 53.3 percent for women and 78.4 percent for men. Although these figures are slightly above the national average, the living conditions of both populations remain precarious. This is partly due to the fact that the sectors of the economy in which they are employed, such as services, agricultural work, and the construction industry, are only accessible given the educational lag they suffer. Consequently, they participate in low-skilled activities that involve greater physical effort and lower pay. Income disparities are associated with the labor market, but also with educational trajectories that determine employment opportunities (Jusidman, 2009), thus deepening the asymmetries between these populations and the rest of the country. Because of these reasons, ethnic-cultural factors are once again observed in the production and reproduction of asymmetries.

Despite this, both populations contribute with their labor force, even in the development of economic projects, although they remain outside of the benefits. This can be seen in the agro-industrial market, both in Mexico and in the United States, where they work intensely in exchange for low wages. They are a population exploited and excluded “from the networks in which wealth is […] distributed” (Reygadas, 2007), even though they participate in its production. This exclusion affects their living conditions, their children’s educational opportunities, access to healthcare, among other factors (Abramo, 2019).

Workshop: From the navel to the earth
Picture: David Sánchez, Secretaría de Cultura

The contribution of the labor force of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican people can be analyzed from the role they play in family care, caregiving for the sick, and caring for the elderly—tasks that often fall on these populations. However, these tasks are carried out under disadvantaged conditions, and, as Rosa Campoalegre Septién suggests: “it is necessary to recognize, redistribute, and reduce care work, as well as to de-racialize these tasks” (Gómez Mena, 2025). From Jusidman’s perspective (2009), women engaged in these economic activities are affected, as they do not receive fair pay and lack social benefits: “this is not valued economically […] they are unprotected by the state and subject to low compensation […] and are positioned at the very bottom of the occupational scale.” These factors contribute to the production of asymmetries in the quality of life for both populations.

THEY ARE A POPULATION EXPLOITED AND EXCLUDED “FROM THE NETWORKS IN WHICH WEALTH IS […] DISTRIBUTED” , EVEN THOUGH THEY PARTICIPATE IN ITS PRODUCTION

RESIDENCE, HEALTH, GENDER
Place of residence represents another dimension of inequality. According to Jusidman (2009), indigenous peoples and Afro-Mexican communities live in rural, dispersed, and smaller localities, characterized by the lack of basic infrastructure and health and education services. These areas have the highest economic and social backwardness in the country, in contrast to those where the non-indigenous population resides. In these places, the necessary structural conditions have not been created through social policies to ensure a better quality of life. These limitations become critical obstacles when it comes to addressing health issues, such as providing care for a pregnant woman.

Studies such as Freyermuth Enciso (2010) and Paloma Sesia (2011) emphasize inequality and social disparity as factors that explain the rates of indigenous maternal mortality in Chiapas. Jusidman (2009) also highlights the high maternal mortality rates associated with a lack of healthcare infrastructure and the absence of financial resources to transport someone to a hospital. This demonstrates how some asymmetries reproduce others in a chain-like manner, further undermining the rights of the population.

Afro-Mexican people and communities
Picture: Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas (INPI)

However, talking about social inequalities in relation to Indigenous peoples and Afro-Mexican or Black communities also implies considering gender inequities (Dietz, 2017; Reygadas, 2007), which go beyond economic and social aspects, where disparities manifest between men and women within these populations, compared to the rest of society, and the same happens for people of diverse gender identities. In this sense, gender-based inequalities also have an ethnic-cultural component linked to structural discrimination. Jusidman (2009) points out that women experience greater asymmetries compared to men, expressed in forms of subordination, exploitation, and exclusion; moreover, Indigenous and Afro-Mexican women face greater disparities compared to women from the rest of the national society, which reinforces the ethnic-cultural component of gender inequalities.

SOME ASYMMETRIES REPRODUCE OTHERS IN A CHAIN-LIKE MANNER, FURTHER UNDERMINING THE RIGHTS OF THE POPULATION

OTHER VARIABLES
Other dimensions add to these multiple forms of inequality. Various reports from intergovernmental organizations have documented situations of violence (such as intimidation, assaults, and even murders) against indigenous human rights defenders. There are also reports of land shortages, malnutrition problems, and internal displacement caused by territorial dispossession, as well as incarcerated populations without resources for their legal defense, unemployment, and health issues that affect life expectancy, which is up to twenty years shorter than that of the non-indigenous population, according to World Bank data. On top of this, the impact of climate change on the territories of indigenous peoples and Afro-Mexican communities must be considered, along with the digital divide due to lack of access to technology, among other conditions that reflect deep and persistent social, economic, political, and cultural inequalities that put them at a disadvantage.

All of the above confirms the multifactorial nature of this phenomenon, but it also highlights the most disadvantaged populations: indigenous peoples and Afro-Mexican communities, whose cultures differ from the dominant one in the country. This places social inequality in ethnocultural terms at the center of the analysis, where political and socioeconomic power relations are structured asymmetrically; in Dietz’s (2017) terms: “they reflect the historically rooted ways of making cultural diversity visible or invisible, as well as the way of stigmatizing otherness and discriminating against certain groups in particular.”

Afro-Mexican people and communities
Picture: Secretaría de Cultura, 2019

From this perspective, there are power relations that have defined who has access to economic, political, social, and cultural rights, based on who belongs to the “majority” and who is considered a “minority,” or, as Dietz (2017) emphasizes: “who belongs to a majority and who is stigmatized as a minority.” This statement reflects the difficulties that persist today in building intercultural relationships that represent more equitable and democratic conditions, capable of eradicating social inequalities in their multiple dimensions, expressions, causes, and consequences—such as discrimination, racism, and the exclusion of people and cultures—which have a clear ethnocultural basis. In this sense, it is necessary to reverse these processes according to Reygadas (2007), who proposes reconciling equity and diversity, as well as fostering respect for cultural differences.

RESISTANCES
In these contexts, the resilience and resistance of people belonging to indigenous peoples and Afro-Mexican communities emerge, who have sought to transform asymmetric relationships into more equitable bonds. Dietz (2017) highlights that this manifests through other forms of participation, supported by proposals for social transformation and aimed at eradicating inequalities by addressing the factors that sustain them: the structures of power and the distribution of income, employment, and other resources.

Finally, it is necessary to consider that eradicating the multiple dimensions of social inequalities in a multicultural country like Mexico also involves ensuring that access to employment and social development resources—educational, health, housing, and others—is culturally and linguistically appropriate. Likewise, the systematic production of georeferenced information about both populations is essential, not only to make them quantitatively and geographically visible, but also to contribute to the definition of a social policy with a cultural and territorial approach, in line with the needs of the country’s multicultural reality. In this regard, it is necessary to implement actions that contribute, in a profound way, to lifting indigenous peoples and Afro-Mexican populations out of poverty and marginalization, bringing them closer to the full exercise of their economic, social, political, and cultural rights, in accordance with the national and international legal frameworks that support them; among these is the recent amendment to the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, which establishes that indigenous peoples and communities are subjects of public law with legal personality and their own assets.

In this process, higher education institutions play a fundamental role. The University Program for Studies on Cultural Diversity and Interculturality (PUIC) at UNAM (formerly the Mexico Multicultural Nation Program) has developed over twenty years projects in education, teaching, research, outreach, and dissemination for a culturally diverse world; these projects aim to make visible, respect, and recognize the imprint of the cultural matrix of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples, as well as other communities that make up the country’s multicultural foundation. Additionally, the PUIC has a scholarship system aimed at students from both populations, focused on providing financial support to ensure the completion of their professional studies, as part of the actions to achieve its objectives, which include promoting and guiding research, teaching, reflection, and application proposals related to cultural diversity, the construction of equity, and equality in intercultural relations, as fundamental pillars for social transformation.

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