Indigenous Rights in Mexico and Central America Essay

How would you discuss the worldviews and value systems of Indigenous peoples prior to European contact/invasion? How did these worldviews impact all aspects of life (science, agriculture, language, spirituality, etc.) for indigenous peoples?

The military is responsible for enforcement, which includes death squads, torture, and public execution. The big businesses who are able to extract an endless supply of 'minimum wage' labor, amass great wealth but instead of reinvesting it locally, most invest overseas or in capital intensive labor whereby local jobs are eliminated. Taking all this into effect and the fact that social classes and living conditions of many Central Americans are deteriorating rapidly leads some to rebellion. Some have taken a path of Passive rebellion. This can be seen in literature and popular music which questions the government.

a city where an eagle with a snake in its beak rested on a cactus. This

This year’s election cycle brought heated debates and discussions about many things; “the wall”, free trade, NAFTA, immigration issues, borders security and policy issues. Regardless of which side of the political isle you stand, which way the political winds sway in Washington D.C., one thing is certain not to change with the election cycle, and that is, the actual physical border between The United States and Mexico. Therefore, if we can’t change that, and we can’t, then there needs to be solutions to problems that continue to exist between the two sovereign countries. Trade and Security are two of the most important factors for neighboring countries and they must not be ignored. Beyond just good political, diplomatic, and strategic vision it is important to understand there are cultural, education and diversity complexities which takes tremendous and often times delicate maneuvering to come together for the greater good of both economies and governments, as millions of people rely on successful trade agreements and security.

People have been living in the Americas for thousands of years. Only fairly recently, the past few hundred years, have foreigners begun to arrive and drastically disrupt the way of life of the aboriginal population. The situation has become so severe that a population that was one believed to be numbered in the millions, was at one point reduced to as few as 220,000 in 1910, and entire tribes have been either irretrievably warped or have disappeared altogether. While Native American Indians have almost completely recovered population-wise, they will never catch up to the rest of the world, and their culture can never fully recuperate. At the time the United States was settled by Europeans, it was abundantly populated by dozens of

There have been many instances throughout history in which indigenous people have unwillingly suffered the consequences of foreigners’ interaction with their culture. In the case of the Huaorani two foreign groups, the oil companies and the missionaries, invaded their land and gravely affected the life they led in the Ecuadorian amazon. In the book Savages Joe Kane gives a firsthand account at how the Huaorani fight to preserve their land and traditional way of life.

One of the first questions to be addressed when interacting with Native Americans is the question of their rights. Upon arrival to America, the conquistadors believed the Native Americans were too weak to take care of the land and themselves. Spaniard, Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda described the Native Americans to be weak, simple minded, and slaves by nature. He compares the relationship between the conquistadors and the Natives to that of a father over his wife and children (de Sepúlveda, 63). Comparing Native American to children implies that they are incapable of taking care of themselves and their own affairs. In being

When the Europeans first arrived in Latin America, they didn’t realize the immensity of their actions. As history has proven, the Europeans have imposed many things on the Latin American territory have had a long, devastating effect on the indigenous people. In the centuries after 1492, Europeans would control much of South America and impose a foreign culture upon the already established civilizations that existed before their arrival. These imposed ideas left the continent weak and resulted in the loss of culture, the dependence on European countries, and a long standing ethnic tension between natives and settlers which is evident even to this day. The indigenous people of South America, which

In the Preface of Major Problems in Mexican American History Zaragosa Vargas writes, "Nearly two thirds of Latinos in the United States are of Mexican descent, or Chicanos- a term of self definition that emerged during the 1960's and early 1970s civil rights movement. Chicanos reside mainly in the Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, and the Midwest. Their history begins in the precolonial Spanish era, and they share a rich mestizo cultural heritage of Spanish, Indian, and African origins. The Chicanos' past is underscored by conquest of the present-day American Southwest first by the Spanish and then by the United States following the Mexican American War" (xv). When one thinks of a Chicano one thinks of the Mayans and Aztecs, the conquests,

The Chamizal Settlement is an argument between the United States and Mexico over the border that is created by the movement of the river for natural causes. The effects of the movement of the river is that the United States and Mexico would lose and gain territory so both nations agree on building a human made river path, A lot of people that lived in the Cordova islands were upset that they had to be relocated because they were going to build a human made path for the river. The treaty was urgent for the United States because the missile crisis with Cuba. Mexico had no problem with Cuba and the United States was afraid that they would joint with the Cuban, so on June 5, 1963 was when president John F Kennedy came to El Paso Texas.

The Spanish colonizers had a huge influence on the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Peru’s, culture, language, traditions, religion, even on their native food. One can say that this came into being shortly after Columbus discovered the New World. The Spanish conquistadors, who sailed with Columbus to the New World, were the first to leave their mark on the new territory. We still see some of these traditions in today’s society. The Spanish taught the Indians of their oral traditions of legends and jokes, music, food, beliefs, and customs. The Indians even picked up on their native tongue, Spanish, and used it as their own and still do to this day. There are many things in the Mexican culture which have contributed to the shaping and molding of the modern Latino society, such as the Mexican history, culture, language, religion, and traditions.

In the 1500s the first settlers settled in an area near the Gulf of Fonseca this territory would later be known as El Salvador. Soon after the territory was conquered by Spanish rule in 1524 and ruled by King Charles I of Spain until their independence in 1838 (Background, 2012). Struggling with the new found independence this new nation was curse with constant revolutions and over-turning of governments (Background, 2012). Situated in the middle of the fresh region called Central America this sovereign state had neither major resources nor growing economy, whereas other nations had an industry to depend on once the colonial power leaves this nation was forced to start from scratch.

According to the Cornell University Law School’s ‘Legal Information Institute’, self-determination ‘denotes the legal right of people to decide their own destiny in the international order’. As a major concept of international law, self-determination gives people the right to control their own fates under certain fundamental criteria, and can be claimed by a minority that bases its lifestyle on an ethnic identity that is distinguishable from regular society, with a strong desire for cultural preservation. It has been considered to be a framework with the ability to guide legislative reforms within Australia, with an underlying ‘rights- based’ approach to Indigenous Issues. Self-determination is considered to be an important aspect of the legal system in regards to Indigenous Peoples, as it provides them a process of choice, to guarantee the practice of Indigenous social, cultural and economic needs.

In addition, assess how and if Maya/indigenous rights permeate into international and national law. The research methods that this paper employed involved the collection of many academic journal regarding indigenous rights, Maya culture rights, and the issues that impede development in Maya communities. Furthermore, the research incorporated a deep understanding of the diluted political systems of Central America that does not grant Maya communities representation in their state’s political/governing

It may seem hard to believe but there are still indigenous people out there still suffering from corruption and oppression from their very own government. However the indigenous people are not fighting them alone. In 1994 Chiapas Mexico, a movement began by a group that called themselves the Zapatistas. The Zapatistas wanted change for the indigenous people for all the years of oppression they have suffered by the government. “Indian Is Beautiful” a chapter by Homero Aridjis gives examples on why indigenous peoples voices don't get recognized. He also talks about how Mexico tried to be part of the future of the United States economy, by not having indigenous people being involved in their economy is preventing them to grow. The Governments in Mexico ignore the indigenous people as if they don't exist.