Mexico’s
Indigenous Peoples
Select a Woman
to Represent
Their Resistance
in Upcoming
Presidential Election
In a historic decision for Mexico, the country’s indigenous peoples appointed María de Jesús Patricio Martínez as spokeswoman for the National Indigenous Governing Council, with the intent for her to run as an independent candidate in the upcoming presidential elections of 2018.
The various communities selected her on May 28, 2017, while gathered together at the National Indigenous Congress (CNI, for its initials in Spanish), which was backed by leftist political group Zapatista Army of National Liberation.
The colleague María de Jesús Patricio Martinez is the spokeswoman of the Indigenous Governing Council
The idea of setting up the Council, whose voice would be “materialized by an indigenous woman,” arose in October 2016, after the Fifth National Indigenous Congress. At the conclusion of that Congress, and marking its 20 years of existence, the CNI and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation announced the proposal — which would be submitted for consultation to its members — in a joint statement entitled “May the earth tremble at its core”:
According to the CNI, 523 communities from 25 states and 43 indigenous peoples approved the proposal in December 2016, so that the constitution of the Council and the appointment of their respective spokesperson would take place in May 2017.
In its press release at that time, the CNI stated the following regarding the Indigenous Governing Council (CIG, its initials in Spanish):
Precisely with the aim of distancing themselves from the narrative of political parties, and in order to abide by their collective forms of organization and representation, both the CNI and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation have insisted that it is not a question of promoting a candidate but a spokesperson:
At least 848 delegates and councillors from about 60 indigenous peoples of the country, as well as the General Command of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, participated in the nomination Assembly.
Let this country shake with the resistance, rebellion and dignity of all the peoples of Mexico.
María de Jesús Patricio Martínez (also known as Marichuy) is a traditional medicine doctor and Nahua from Tuxpan in the state of Jalisco. In 2010, she stated her desire for an organization like the recently created National Indigenous Governing Council:
In the following Spanish-language AJ+ video made prior to her appointment as spokesperson, Marichuy herself emphasizes the importance of choosing an indigenous woman to raise awareness of the problems, struggles and traditions of indigenous communities during the elections.
The 2018 presidential elections will be the first to allow the nomination of independent candidates. But, in order to do so, the candidates must fulfill a series of requirements established in the Seventh Book of the General Law on Electoral Institutions and Procedures. They include:
- establishing a civil association
- opening a bank account
- registering with the Tax Administration Service
- and once registered as candidates, gathering the support of 1 per cent of the total number of citizens registered in the national electoral register (about 1 million signatures) distributed in at least 17 states.
It remains to be seen whether María de Jesús Patricio Martínez’s candidacy will succeed in meeting the deadlines and requirements of the Mexican electoral system. However, there is profound symbolism in the mere act of promoting and appointing her — a woman who will not only work to make historically silenced indigenous communities a presence on the political landscape, but is indigenous herself. As spokesperson, her aim will be to realize the National Indigenous Congress motto: “Never again a Mexico without us!”
In her own words, as captured in this video: