[Ethnolinguistic vitality, mass media, and ethnic identity. A study with indigenous groups in the Chiapas (Mexico)]

This study is the first exploration of television use and program selection by indigenous groups in Chiapas (Mexico); more specifically, how members of these groups select specific media messages for reasons of ethnicity, and how this is related to social mobility strategies is examined. Data from 173 indigenous students of the Intercultural University of Chiapas indicated that watching television and selecting programs on the basis of their ethnicity is an important viewing activity for 77 members of this sample. These results encourage more programmatic future research on these issues in Chiapas and are discussed in terms of the representation of ethnic groups there on TV.