Recognising Indigenous Law and the Politics of State Formation in Mesoamerica

Abstract

During the 1990s `pluri-culturalisation' became part of the lexicon of state reform in many Latin American countries, as governments responded to multiple pressures. Indigenous organisations on the ground gained in strength throughout the decade and pressed for recognition of group rights for indigenous peoples. In addition, international organisations such as the UN increasingly advanced indigenous rights as a form of human rights, and a body of international law emerged referring to the specific rights of indigenous peoples. Across the continent governments responded to such developments, to a greater or lesser degree, by adopting a multiculturalist discourse and instituting a series of constitutional and legal reforms to recognise the rights and identities of their indigenous populations.1