The Culture of the Nation: The Ethnic Past and Official Nationalism in 20th Century Mexico Natividad Gutidrrez Chong A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sociology London School of Economics and Political Science University of London 1995 1 UMI Number: U615544 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615544 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 s K 1 To Victor in memoriam and Albertina Abstract Contemporary nations are founded on the conflicting and, at the same time, complementary interplay between modernity and ethnicity. In the debate of nationalism, however, sociological theory has revealed a polarisation of view points. Some theorists argue that the nation is a completely new phenomenon disassociated from the past and responding to modern conditions, while others stress that nations are expressions of cultural continuity based on the existence of a traceable ethnic past from which a sense of ethnocentrism is derived. The aim of this research is to highlight the complementarity of these viewpoints by discussing and comparing the theoretical models of two of the most representative exponents since the 1980's: E. Gellner's "modernism" and A.D. Smith "historical-culturalism". Mexican nationalism of the 20th century is the empirical backdrop against which the interplay of these theories are assessed. This research demonstrates that Mexican nationalism, despite usurping and using the ethnic indigenous past to form a unique culture of the nation, excludes the diversity of indigenous peoples by propagating a centralising discourse based on the Aztec and mestizo heritages, the civic traditions of the Liberal state, and encourages the emulation and adpotion of the Hispanic side of mestizo culture. This dissertation comprises three levels of analysis: the modern and offical use of a selective ethnic past conceived as a formula for integrating a multiethnic society; the inculcation of cultural ideas of common and continuous historicity through standard education and its respective text-books; and finally, the articulated responses of a stratum of educated indigenous peoples. The opinions and perceptions of native peoples are based on first-hand data obtained through interviews and a survey questionnaire. Thus, the study explores the indigenous reaction towards and perception of some of the symbols of Mexico's nationalism: the Aztec myth of foundation, the putative shared ancestry of "mixed race", and the civic cult to president Benito Ju&rez. Contents Page Abstract 2 Contents 3 Acknowledgements 5 List of Abbreviations 7 List of Tables 8 List of Illustrations 9 Maps 1. "Ethnic Groups of Mexico” 10 2. "Ethnic Provenance of Indigenous Students and Professionals" 11 Introduction 12 Chapters 1. Theories of Nationalism: Modernists and Historical- Culturalists 30 2. Empiricism and Nationalism: The Methodology of the Research 58 3. The Historical Transformation of Indian Identity 79 4. Ethnic Myths and the Views and Opinions of Indian People 111 5. Civic Heroes and the Cultural Perceptions of Indian People 148 3 Page 6. The National Education System: Origin and Development 178 7. School Text-Books and Cultural Themes of Nationalism 199 8. The Indigenist Project: Mexicanization or the Plurality of Mexico 229 9. The Emergence of Indigenous Professionals and Intellectuals 261 Conclusion 293 Notes to chapters 303 Bibliography 321 Appendix 1 359 Appendix 2 366 Appendix 3 369 4 Acknowledgments This research has greatly benefitted from the discussions on the various theories of nationalism and case studies, between the lecturers and students of the "Interdisciplinary Seminar on Nationalism” at the London School of Economics. Particularly, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Professor A.D. Smith who supervised this dissertation with dedicated interest and who was most generous with his time and knowledge. His support was never lacking. I would like to thank Dr. L. Sklair for his encouragement and advice. This study is partially based on field-work carried out in the Summers of 1991 and 1992. I acknowledge with gratitude the Central Research Fund, University of London, for the grant which allowed me to complete my field-work in several parts of Mexico in 1992. The completion of this thesis was possible thanks to the grant I received from the "Seminario de Estudios de la Cultura" - CONCA -. During my field-work many people offered me help, assistance and advice. I would like to give special mention to G. Bautista, who shared his knowledge of the "Indian intellectual elite”, who was instrumental in helping me to establish contact with my informants and who allowed me access to their small but significant library of indigenous publications as well as the archives of Revista Etnias and ANPIBAC. I pay my respects to Dr. Bonfil Bata11a (in memoriam) who showed great interest in this research and whose advice was the determining factor in selecting my informants. Consequently, I am also greateful to N. Hernandez, former Coordinator of the "Programme of Support for Indigenous Cultures" - CONCA -who contributed to the location of my informants in several parts of Mexico. I acknowledge the following people for their invaluable help during the application of the survey questionnaire: Otilio Atanacio Bautista - UPN - and E. Diaz-Coulder and Eleuterio Polarte Tiburcio - CIESAS - and most important, to the students who responded to the questionnaire. I extend my sincere thanks to each one of the indigenous 5 people I have interviewed, for having allowed me to discuss their views. I also thank them for their patience and support. As promised, their names will not be revealed. I am particularly thankful to the hospitality offered me by my informants in Valladolid and Calkini in Yucat&n and Campeche, as well as those in Cherdn, Michoacdn, and Tepeapulco in Tlaxcala. I greatly appreciate the enthusiasm and comments of Dr. R. Stavenhagen and the assistance and help of E. Aguilar at El Colegio de Mexico, and to the usual generosity and friendship of Nieves Arias, Hector Meza, Ana Margolis, Margo Glantz, Alison Palmer and particularly, that of Laura Donnadieu and Roy Russell. I am thankful to Alberto and Victor for their constant support. They have been for me, a permanent source of self- motivation and inspiration. Finally, I owe a great debt of gratitude to Dermot for so many things. Responsibility for views expressed here, as well as for errors and omissions, is mine alone. 6 List of Abbreviations AEI Asociaci6n de Escritores Indlgenas AIPIN Agenda Internacional de Prensa Indigena AMPII Asociacidn Mexicana de Profesionales Indlgenas e Intelectuales ANPIBAC Alianza Nacional de Profesionales Indlgenas Bilingues, A.C. CIESAS Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropologla Social ClIAS Centro de Investigacidn e Integracidn Social (Oaxaca) COCEI Coordinadora Obrero-Campesina-Estudiantil del Istmo de Tehuantepec CONACyT Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologla CONALTE Consejo Nacional T6cnico de la Educacidn CONCA Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes CNPAB Consejo Nahua de los Pueblos del Alto Balsas CNPI Coordinadora Nacional de Pueblos Indlgenas DGCP Direccion General de Culturas Populares DGEI Direccidn General de Educacidn Indigena FIPI Frente Independiente de Pueblos Indlgenas ICHC Instituto Chiapaneco de Cultura INI Instituto Nacional Indigenista III Instituto Indigenista Interamericano LEI "Licenciatura en Educacidn Indigena” MLI "Maestrla en Lingulstica Indoaxnericana” OPINAC Organizacidn de Profesionales Indlgenas Nahuas, A.C. SEP Secretarla de Educacidn Pfiblica SNTE Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educacidn UPN Universidad Pedagdgica Nacional List of Tables Page 1 Characteristics of intervieweed indigenous professionals. 70 2 Indigenous students' approval of Mexico. 101 3 Indigenous students' dissaproval of aspects of Mexico. 103 4 Indian programmes for the consumption by the mestizo society. 106 5 Indian programmes for the consumption by Indian peoples. 107 6 Indigenous students' knowledge of the 'myth of foundation'. 125 7 Indigenous students' identification of 'myth of foundation'. 125 8 Indigenous students' score of usual representations of the national emblem. 126 9 Indigenous students' knowledge of 'Nahua words'. 128 10 Indigenous students' knowledge from themes of Aztec culture and history. 129 11 Indigenous students' knowledge of the 'myth of mestizaje". 143 12 Indigenous students' opinion of mestizaje. 143 13 Contributions of mestizaje to the social life of the country. 144 14 Indigenous students's source of knowledge of mestizaje. 144 15 The text-book's periods of national history. 201 16 Indigenous students' knowledge of the flag. 209 17 Indigenous students' response to the national anthem. 210 18 Indigenous students' reaction to 'love of country'. 210 19 Indigenous students' reaction to 'fight against the enemy'. 211 20 Indigenous students' reaction to 'die for my country'. 221 21 Indigenous students' opinion on