Urban Indigenous Governmentality: A Revision of Discursive Frameworks in Mexico City, 1997-2018

In Mexico City, for a long time, the relationship between indigenous peoples and local governments was marked by invisibility and a legal and institutional gap. In recent years, this relationship has been disrupted due to institutional and political changes in the city government. This article analyzes the processes of redefining the notion of 'urban indigenous' in the city between 1997 and 2018, as well as its materialization in discursive frameworks that sustain the notions of place, rights and participation spaces for those defined as indigenous and original peoples. It uses a mixed methodology based on revising government programs and reports, local and federal legislation, and profound interviews. Findings include that the transition from the place of the indigenous people as a vulnerable and/or rural to the recognition of their rights may increase the complexity of government mechanisms but does not imply a change in the subordinate and restricted place these groups occupy in relation with the rest of urban inhabitants.