Abstract

VAZQUEZ SANDRIN, Germán  and  QUEZADA, María Félix. The self-ascription Indians of Mexico in the 2010 Census: ethnic revitalization or census overestimation?. Pap. poblac [online]. 2015, vol.21, n.86, pp.171-218. ISSN 2448-7147.

Based on the results of Mexican population census of 2010, indigenous population identified by self-ascription totaled more than 15 million, that represents 15 percent of the national population in that year. This figure has almost tripled in 2000-2010 period and became the highest volume of indigenous population in census registers since 1930. In this article several possible explanations for this are explored, such as: the formulation of the census question, the revitalization of indigenous culture, poor quality census and population growth. The body of evidence suggests that the wording of the question in 2010, when referring to ethnicity "culture", was more permissive for the population as indigenous self-adscription and overestimated its volume.

Keywords : Indigenous people; indigenous language speakers; ethnicity; belonging to a culture; censuses.