Translated by Courtney Webster
In accordance with an assessment by the Federal Electoral Institute concerning political behavior and the exercise of social rights, such as education and health, there is greater participation in elections and a significant lack in exercising basic guarantees, such as social security and education, in the 28 districts considered indigenous (those with at least 40 percent of the population being ethnic).
The study, carried out by the IFE Center for Democratic Development, showed that, while electoral participation in these communities was 6 percent higher than the national average, the indicators related to education reveal quantitative and qualitative deficits, such as illiteracy rates which were reported to be 19.24 percent, in comparison to 5.69 percent in non-indigenous election districts.
The study, carried out by the IFE Center for Democratic Development, showed that, while electoral participation in these communities was 6 percent higher than the national average, the indicators related to education reveal quantitative and qualitative deficits, such as illiteracy rates which were reported to be 19.24 percent, in comparison to 5.69 percent in non-indigenous election districts.
“The challenge for democracies consists of reconsidering their work as an instrument to integrate distinct social groups into public decision making and deliberation in shared spaces,” the document said.It adds that there are efforts to increase participation in indigenous areas in order to have higher levels of efficacy in recognizing and exercising social rights by forming indigenous political parties. However, in Mexico, the electoral model and the conditions needed to create political parties at the federal and state level makes this plan complex, because of the requirements and the level of difficulty in integrating them.
In Mexico, the demand for a federal party requires a national presence in at least 200 districts or 20 states and a minimum amount of members equivalent to 0.26 percent of the voter registration list.
“It is obvious that in these circumstances, and given the demographic dispersion of the indigenous population, the possibilities of forming a party with an indigenous base are low.”In comparing the political and social indicators, the CDD document emphasizes that in the 28 indigenous districts, abstentionism was at 31 percent, on average, while it increased to 37 percent in the 272 non-indigenous districts. In comparison, the proportion of spoilt votes in non-indigenous areas was 2.37 percent, while it was 3.43 percent in indigenous areas.
The education indicators show that in non-indigenous areas, the percentage of school absences is 2.9 percent, while it is 4.2 percent in indigenous areas. With regards to health, 33.2 percent non-indigenous peoples are without access, compared to 39.2 percent in indigenous regions.
However, behavior is not homogenous throughout the indigenous districts. For example, in various districts located in ... Veracruz and Puebla, there is a larger gap in use of social rights and higher electoral participation. In some Oaxacan districts there is low political participation combined a with a lack of social rights. In Yucatán, the exercise of social guarantees is at average levels and there is high electoral participation, the analysis emphasizes. Spanish original