Indigenous Participation

The indigenous population in Latin America has been excluded from the economic, social and political process, although the Indians represent in many countries in the region the major part of the population. The consequences of this exclusion is expressed, among other things, in the socio-economic situation of indigenous people. Unfortunately, being indigenous in Latin America means to be poor. The indigenous population is affected by poverty and extreme poverty. To ensure the stability of democracy, it is essential that  all sectors of society are adequately represented. Exclusion means a risk to democracy because it leads to a questioning of the system by those who do not feel integrated.

Currently, there is a strong interest in the States and in the international community to discuss the recognition of human rights of Indigenous People. This is motivated, perhaps because they are identified as minority groups.The last decades have witnessed major changes in the role of indigenous peoples in the political life of several Latin American countries. After so long of exclusion and marginalization of indigenous national policy, new types of indigenous social movements emerged.These movements demanding greater recognition of human rights and cultural rights of indigenous people, and a more active participation in the development area and other processes of public decision making.Despite the emergence of these new indigenous movements and their success in attracting national and international attention on their political, socio-economic and cultural situation, indigenous people still face significant challenges. These challenges include finding ways to reduce high levels of poverty and inequality, implementing national laws and international agreements that recognize greater participation in decision making processes at local and national levels. So to face these fundamental challenges is necessary to understand the role that indigenous movements are underway as key players in regional politics, national and local.

In any election the most important thing for the candidates is to get votes to win, being those votes product of the great campaigns made ​​by the political parties with certain groups of the population, in which some are indigenous communities. Therefore, it can be said that the participation of indigenous communities is very important because it favors, first,  a particular candidate or political party, and on the other hand favor choosing their own community who most suits them.

No doubt, that each of the many cultures in our country provides different solutions to the various problems of the nation. With this we may be in a position to be more democratic or taking steps forward in building a democracy that recognizes cultural diversity. If the countries of the world, or, if the Mexican nation does not accept its indigenous people fully, if each of its officers, citizens and their families do not recognize indigenous people in every moment of our life as Mexicans, we can´t solve the problems which we live.