VZCZCXRO6251
PP RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHMC #0009/01 0122301
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 122301Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL MONTERREY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4178
INFO RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO PRIORITY 5262
RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHMC/AMCONSUL MONTERREY 9809

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTERREY 000009 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM ECON SOCI MX
SUBJECT: THE RISE OF THE INDIGENOUS POPULATION IN NUEVO LEON 
 
MONTERREY 00000009  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary.  During the past three decades, Mexico has seen 
an increase in the migration of indigenous people to the more 
urban areas of the country for economic reasons and Nuevo Leon 
has seen a sharp increase in the number of migrants to the 
state.  Along with the rise in populations with distinct 
cultures, languages, and traditions come inherent difficulties 
such as cultural discrimination, lack of access to government 
services, and harassment.  A comprehensive multi-sectional 
approach is needed to address the problem; only time will tell 
whether the Nuevo Leon state government has appropriately 
configured its bureaucratic resources in search of the solution. 
 End Summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (U) According to the National Institute of Statistics and 
Geography (INEGI), in 1895, 25.9% of Mexico's total national 
population consisted of indigenous people.  This figure 
decreased to 10.2% in 1930 and was as low as 4.3% in 1960. 
However, since then, the population has risen.  In 1994, it was 
7.4% and 10.5% in 2000.  Mexico's Human Development Index for 
2000 finds that there were 10.3 million indigenous people of a 
total Mexican population of 97.5 million.  The majority of 
indigenous people predominately reside in the southern part of 
the country.  Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Veracruz states have the 
largest populations.  However, migration to other areas, such as 
Nuevo Leon, has been an increasing phenomenon ever since the 
1970s with the industrialization and expansion of the service 
sector.  Since 1995, there has been a stark increase in 
migration to urban areas of the country.  Indigenous people 
began arriving, attracted by the economic boom in these regions. 
 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U) The INEGI statistics reveal that while there were 787 
indigenous language speakers in Nuevo Leon in 1970, by 2005 this 
total had risen to 29,538.  However, the National Commission for 
the Development of Indigenous Villages (CDI) conducted its own 
study using different criteria and determined that the 
indigenous population in Nuevo Leon in 2000 was actually 30,051. 
 The 2005 figure from CDI estimates the number of indigenous 
people in Nuevo Leon to be 59,174, which is 1.4% of the total 
state population.  Unlike the INEGI study that classified 
indigenous people as only those speaking an indigenous language, 
the CDI study took into account other sectors of the population. 
 It accounted for children 0-4 years old who do not yet speak, 
non-speakers of indigenous languages who nonetheless identify as 
indigenous, and indigenous people who did not participate in the 
census such as domestic servants living outside of their homes 
(living with their employers instead).  This gives a more 
realistic figure for the number of indigenous people living in 
the state. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U) The indigenous people living in Nuevo Leon come from 
primarily 6 major indigenous groups: the Nahuas and Tenek of the 
Huasteca Region, the Zapotecos and Mixtecos from Oaxaca, the 
Otomies from Queretaro, and the Mazahuas from Mexico State.  The 
Nahuas and Tenek hail from the Huasteca Region of San Luis 
Potosi, Veracruz, and Hidalgo.  They have chosen the 
agricultural fields and urban centers of Nuevo Leon to relocate. 
 They are mainly young, single women.  85-90% work in domestic 
services.  They live in the mostly wealthy zones such as San 
Pedro, Monterrey, and Guadalupe.  The Zapotecos come from 
Oaxaca, are primarily married, and migrated to Nuevo Leon with 
their families.  The Otomies come from Queretaro and are 
generally the least educated and live congregated with one 
another.  They are married with families and principally work in 
the commercial sector.  The vast majority of Mixtecos live in 
Juarez, Nuevo Leon in the Hector Caballero colony.  The Mixtecos 
also originate from Oaxaca and mainly work as domestic servants. 
 Approximately half are married.  Finally, the Mazahuas come 
from the State of Mexico.  They principally earn money as street 
vendors. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U) The indigenous people who relocate arrive with various 
disadvantages and face cultural differences.  They have 
difficulty maneuvering the governmental system and cannot take 
advantage of institutional support systems and public services 
such as healthcare and education due to language problems, 
illiteracy, racism, ignorance of their rights, and vulnerability 
to police abuse, extortion, and crime.  There is lack of 
judicial processes and legal protection of indigenous workers. 
It is difficult for them to obtain houses and legal residency as 
well.  They have civil registration problems and no translation 
services available to them.  Moreover, institutional violence 
and abuse of power is prevalent against ambulatory vendors and 
domestic servants. 
 
MONTERREY 00000009  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U) PolOff spoke to Dr. Severine Durin, the coordinator of 
the Indigenous Migration Project of Northeast Mexico and author 
of several publications relating to indigenous populations in 
Monterrey.  According to Durin, all of the municipalities of 
Nuevo Leon are reporting second-generation births to indigenous 
peoples, with the exception of Juarez.  This indicates that the 
migration of indigenous people is not a recent phenomenon.  In 
all of the municipalities, except for upper-class San Pedro, the 
majority of indigenous people have lived in Nuevo Leon since at 
least 1995. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (U) The nature of employment found in Nuevo Leon is an 
indicator of the gender imbalance.  The vast majority of 
indigenous people find work in domestic services, a sector of 
employment that is traditionally female.  Men work in labor, 
factories, gardens, and agricultural work.  As indicated by Dr. 
Durin's research, of the 9,809 employed indigenous people in the 
greater Monterrey municipal area, 4,201 (42.8%) work in the 
domestic service sector.  The next highest area of employment 
are factory and construction workers with 1,083 (11%), and 798 
(8.1%) in sales and commercial services.  The remaining sectors 
are food preparation, machine operators, office/school/hospital 
services, street vendors, and laborers or helpers. 
 
 
 
¶8.  (U) PolOff attended the "Workshop for the Awareness of 
Indigenous Matters for Government Officials of Nuevo Leon State" 
on December 10-11, 2009.  The event was organized by the Nuevo 
Leon State Human Rights Commission (CEDH), the National 
Commission for the Development of Indigenous Villages (CDI), and 
the Secretary of Social Development for the Nuevo Leon State 
Government.  Many government sectors were in attendance, 
including various municipal police forces, the Housing 
Institute, the Cultural House, the State Institute for Women, 
and government agencies representing education, immigration, and 
the judiciary sectors. 
 
 
 
¶9.  (U) Comment.  While the workshop's principal goal was to 
promote awareness of the plight of the indigenous population in 
Nuevo Leon, the event's sponsors also saw it as a vehicle to 
help consolidate efforts across multiple government 
organizations to increase supervision and multiply resources. 
Clearly, a comprehensive multi-sectional approach is needed to 
address the problem; only time will tell whether the Nuevo Leon 
state government has appropriately configured its bureaucratic 
resources in search of the solution.  End Comment. 
WILLIAMSONB