El progreso, ¿ayuda o perjudica a los pueblos indígenas de México?

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Does progress help or prejudice the indigenous peoples of Mexico?

The most obvious answer is yes, because it is common to associate progress with human development. Progress has been sought by all peoples in their quest for happiness, but in the end progress is a relative concept and what it means for some may be different from what it means for others. The relativism of progress makes us aware that there is not a unique way to reach it, but whatever path be chosen in this sense must be taken respecting those who do not share our thinking.

Mexico has been a country that has progressed in many aspects, but the currently dominant neoliberal model has not been enough good to créate the conditions that its citizens require to develop their full potential. The neoliberal idea of progress has accentuated the inequalities and the state of misery in which indigenous communities live, and has also ignored the important contributions they have made to us in terms of their vision of the world and their harmony with nature.

Making a historical recount, traditionally indigenous peoples have shared a spiritual, cultural, social and economic relationship with the land. Their laws, customs and practices have reflected both an attachment to the land and the responsibility for its conservation for future generations. Yesterday and now they have defended the collective ownership of their lands because they understand that the entire community must be a beneficiary of their wealth, and that the physical and cultural survival of their people depends on the proper use of the land and its resources.

But later the Europeans arrived and brought with them them western-style progress together with a mercantilist administration of the land, dispossessing its original owners to exploit it. This has been perpetuated through centuries and today indigenous peoples are coerced to abandon their land in the name of 'national interest', without be given their share of the benefits generated by the exploitation of natural resources. The State has legalized and promoted a model which is far from protect the land in favor of its traditional inhabitants, who are not listened nor made to be involved in the political processes that define their destiny.

Development projects in Mexico continue to cause environmental damage. They deplete water, geological and forest resources, develop economic activities that threaten the fragile ecosystems of the earth and cause damage to large areas inhabited by indigenous peoples.

As an example is what happens in the northern highlands of the state of Puebla. The inhabitants of the municipality of Ixtacamaxtitlan indicated that from 2014 they began to resent the effects of the exploration stage made by the Canadian company Almanden Minerals, due to the increased scarcity of water for cultivation and for human consumption. They pointed out that in the demarcation 16 percent of the homes lack piped water from the public network and, if the precious metal extraction phase of the mining project materialized, the availability of water for citizens would be severely diminished. At the same time, water quality has been compromised by contamination from the use of toxic substances, and indicated that to date 30 goats owned by one of the families of the same community have died, after drinking water from a stream that receives discharges from the laboratory / cellar used by the Canadian miner. (Source: Violan Comexhidro y Almaden Minerals derecho humano al agua, denuncian ante ONU. May 8, 2017. http://admin.municipiospuebla.mx/nota/2017-05-08/huauchinango/violan-comexhidro-y-almaden-minerals-derecho-humano-al-agua-denuncian)

The problems arising from this are not only ecological, the social consequences are very serious. The abandonment in which they live usually forces indigenous men and women to migrate to work in the cities, where they suffer from uprooting, discrimination, exploitation and poverty. Communities are dispersed and their culture gradually disappears, and those who stay are diminished in their quality of life and suffer from 'diseases of poverty' associated with malnutrition, lack of hygiene and lack of basic services.

It’s very necessary that indigenous peoples be legally recognized their right to own the land they inhabit, as well as to the use and access to natural resources found there. The Mexican government has usually supported companies and have endorsed their profit motive in the name of progress, offering only compensatory benefits such as building classrooms, hospitals or some other infrastructure in affected communities. This model goes even further by implementing assistancial programs such as the 'crusades against hunger', creating a relationship of dependence on the State that undermines individual dignity. Involvement of indigenoues peoples in development projects will be a reality if they are consulted about and are allowed to decide on issues that substantially affect their land and material, cultural and spiritual livelihoods. Also they have to be offered jobs with a living wage along with more and better vocational training opportunities, so that they can meet their needs by themselves.

Indigenous peoples do not have to ban themselves from intelligent progress that takes their circumstances and their difficulty in living in a capitalist society into account. Most of them accept and understand it and, to ensure their well-being and sustainability, try to adapt and renew their culture to the extent necessary to coexist harmoniously with the rest of society. They change to participate in the progress that improves their quality of life, but real measures have to be taken to ensure that their rights do not remain as mere rhetoric and issues of discussion in a legislative agenda. Progress must always include the legal security of indigenous peoples and their community, recognition of their collective rights, respect for their culture and social organization. It is essential that society as a whole understand the importance of these peoples for the lives of nations and value and apply their knowledge and experience in understanding, preservation and protection of the environment.