Abstract

VENTURA PATINO, María del Carmen. Chronicle of a failed indian reform in Michoacan. Espiral (Guadalaj.) [online]. 2009, vol.16, n.46, pp.97-134. ISSN 1665-0565.

In the framework of the Ley de Derechos y Cultura Indígena (The Bill of the Indigenous Rights and Culture) passed in our country in the year 2001, several states initiated a process tending to approving a series of constitutional reforms on the indigenous issue. In this paper, we revise the case of Michoacán, which unfortunately did not end well. We describe the process that contributes to explain its failure. We analyze the different indigenous reform proposals as presented by an ethnic organization as well as by the members of the Michoacán Commission for Indigenous Reform. We include the different versions of the proposal for indigenous reform until it became the Initiative presented finally by the PRD to Congress, and the points that generated greater debate among the legislators. Lastly, we try to have people reflect on certain reforms that are possible from the juridical point of view in spite of the fact that the national legal framework is very restricted, because they have been approved by some state legislatures.

Keywords : reform and indigenous rights; ethnic organizations; Michoacán.