Affirmative Action and Anti-Racism: a perspective from Higher Education in Mexico

ABSTRACT

The objective is to analyze the effects of affirmative action in higher education within the framework of intercultural policies, considering its limitations in reducing the racism that permeates university life as an ideology. Using a qualitative and interpretive methodology, we conducted interviews and collected testimonies from undergraduate and graduate students at the National Pedagogical University. We found unintended consequences of affirmative action regarding differentiated support for Indigenous students, which manifest as racist expressions; gaps between intercultural discourse and actual practices within institutional life; as well as educational demands related to interculturality and the fight against racism.

Keywords
Affirmative Action; Interculturality; Anti-Racism; Higher Education; Indigenous Students

RESUMEN

El objetivo es analizar los efectos de la acción afirmativa en educación superior en el marco de las políticas interculturales, considerando sus límites para disminuir el racismo que permea como ideología la vida universitaria. Siguiendo una metodología cualitativa e interpretativa, se entrevistó y recuperaron testimonios de estudiantes de licenciatura y posgrado de la Universidad Pedagógica Nacional. Encontramos efectos no deseados de la acción afirmativa frente a los apoyos diferenciados para estudiantes indígenas que se manifiestan con expresiones racistas; distancias entre el discurso intercultural y las prácticas que suceden en la vida institucional; así como demandas formativas sobre la interculturalidad y el combate al racismo.

Palabras-clave
Acción Afirmativa; Interculturalidad; Antirracismo; Educación Superior; Estudiantes Indígenas

Introduction

Affirmative action (AA) programs —which provide support to Indigenous and Afro-descendant students in Mexico’s institutions of higher education (IHE)— emerged based on the premise that there is a historical debt owed to Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants. Those are segments of the population that, during the early decades of the 20th century, were subjected to interventions aimed at transforming them into mestizos as part of the construction of Mexican society; whether through intermarriage with European whites or through the systematic influence of public education.

Through public policies, efforts were made to compensate for the debts of historical processes rooted in colonialism, and affirmative action in Mexican HEIs is justified based on these assessments. This also occurred in several countries through UNESCO-promoted proposals since the 1980s to guide affirmative action policies for minorities and indigenous peoples —who, as heirs to an exclusionary past, had been marginalized in various ways, particularly in access to education at all levels (Inglis, 2008).

Recent data indicate that in Mexico, out of a total population of 126,014,024, only 7,364,645 (5.8%) speak an indigenous language, and 23,229,089 (18.5%) self-identify as indigenous, while 2,576,213 (2%) consider themselves of African descent (INEGI, 2020). It is also noted that recognition of the Afro-Mexican population —which has existed in the territory since European colonization— has occurred in the last decade. Significant differences are observed in the percentage of women: 2.9% self-identified as indigenous, 3.6% spoke an indigenous language, and a much lower 0.7% self-identified as Afro-Mexican. Data on indigenous people's access to higher education are scarce, due to a lack of registration or underreporting by both educational institutions and the agencies that monitor them. However, it is estimated that during the 2002–2012 period, when the AA program, Pathways in Higher Education (PHE), was implemented in Mexico, the increase in this sector's access to higher education ranged from 1% to 3%, although this estimate does not necessarily correspond to indigenous language speakers (Didou, 2014).

Since its creation, the National Pedagogical University (UPN) has recognized indigenous students and sought to integrate them long before the AA program was implemented in the early 21st century as part of the PHE program in Mexico. One such program is the Bachelor's Degree in Indigenous Education (LEI), which has been offered at the Ajusco campus in Mexico City since 1982. Its origins were linked to the demands of indigenous teachers' organizations seeking access to higher education to train indigenous education professionals, and it responded in part to the call for decolonization.

In this article, we report on the findings of the project “Intercultural and Anti-Racist Discourses in the Training of Education Professionals," through which we sought to analyze the effects of AA in higher education within the framework of intercultural policies and anti-racism initiatives promoted in the region and in Mexico. First, we outline the contexts surrounding the implementation of AF in higher education in Mexico. Next, we describe the methodology used and outline the processes of Indigenous professionalization in education promoted by the UPN. We present intercultural and anti-racist perspectives in education, and finally analyze the effects of AA as they relate to interculturality and the fight against racism.

Contexts of Affirmative Action

Affirmative action was part of the compensatory measures implemented in Central and South America at the beginning of the 21st century to reduce historical inequalities faced by Indigenous peoples and people of African descent in accessing and remaining in higher education. These initiatives were promoted through mentoring programs, scholarships, academic support, mentor training, and community engagement projects within inclusion programs at conventional universities, as well as, in some countries, the creation of so-called intercultural universities (Mato, 2009; Didou; Remedi, 2009).

Also known as positive affirmative action, these initiatives were promoted by international organizations such as the Ford Foundation, in coordination with education systems and local agencies, based on the specific development conditions in each region and country —taking into account funding capacities and unequal coverage of the sectors targeted by these policies.

The Pathways program in Mexico was launched through the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education (ANUIES) and the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) with the creation of the Program to Support Indigenous Students in Institutions of Higher Education (PAEIIES); and, as the name suggests, it was aimed exclusively at this population and did not include people of African descent, unlike in other countries where they were included. Likewise, the Intercultural Universities (UI), created since 2001 by the CGEIB-SEP, were part of the AA policy but were designed from the outset to open up other fields of study under an intercultural education paradigm. They were located in various parts of the country. As part of the characteristics that defined them from the outset, they are primarily aimed at the indigenous population, incorporating the subject of indigenous languages into their educational programs —in some cases as part of the curriculum— and fostering connections with the indigenous communities from which the students originate.

The objective of the PHE, in its Mexican version, was to strengthen academic resources at participating institutions in order to address the needs of enrolled Indigenous students and improve their academic performance (ANUIES–Ford Foundation, 2005). The program operated for 10 years and, beginning in 2002, gradually expanded. The total number of items continued to grow until it reached a final count of 24 higher education institutions from various states across the country that had identified indigenous student populations in both general and specific programs. As part of the original commitments, financial resources were allocated through ANUIES-Ford Foundation to the institutions participating in this initiative. Among the specific interventions proposed by the Pathways initiative were: training for faculty and tutors at higher education institutions; strategies to combat dropout and failure rates to promote student retention and academic success; financial support and recognition of socioeconomic needs; identification and registration of indigenous students; and, finally, institutional collaboration and outreach (ANUIES-Ford Foundation, 2005).

Some studies that tracked these early affirmative actions —taking into account the various institutions and their characteristics regarding the enrollment and support of indigenous students— reported that, among the achievements, these actions did open doors and improve access and academic retention for this segment of the student body; however, they failed to address the structural problems of inequality that these students face upon entering and pursuing their studies. Furthermore, there is no evidence that these initiatives have had an impact on the students’ home communities (Didou, 2006; Didou; Remedi, 2009). Other studies focused on mentoring processes and the work carried out by the PAEIIES, highlighting both strengths and weaknesses (Velasco Cruz, 2012). The need for better information systems and long-term studies to measure actual effects was also suggested (Didou, 2014), as well as the importance of broadening the perspective on the meaning of inclusion in higher education institutions through an epistemic debate on educational proposals and the direct participation of students (Navarrete, 2017).

Shortcomings and limitations of the program intervention were also identified. For example, at none of the 24 institutions did the PAEIIES allocate resources to facilitate the admission of the target population. Instead, the approach involved identifying Indigenous students already enrolled at these institutions by administering direct surveys on self-identification as Indigenous among the student body. Nor were resources made available for scholarships for students who self-identified as Indigenous. Support was directed toward promoting advisory services and providing crash training (rather than systematic training) to some volunteer faculty members, to familiarize them with the program and enable their participation in its implementation. At the same time, the program devoted efforts to securing dedicated spaces within the participating institutions for specific gatherings of Indigenous students, as well as to setting up computer and printing equipment, for which the program allocated resources (Flores Crespo, 2006). It was also criticized for failing to recognize the importance of relying on an intercultural intervention plan, with content that would help the institutions themselves adapt their services to comprehensively transform their functions (Didou; Remedi, 2009). At the same time, the issue of racism —a sensitive topic in student communities— was sidelined and excluded from any consideration under the program's auspices.

Another group of studies analyzed, beyond the PAEIIES, the experiences of indigenous students at various higher education institutions in Mexico, recognizing the expectations and transformations involved in accessing conventional universities in terms of subjective reconfiguration, attitudes toward racism in education, processes of identity empowerment, the meaning of intercultural education as an approach directed toward these communities, as well as the ties that are strengthened—in some cases—with their communities and with projects promoted by indigenous organizations (Czarny, 2012; Hernández, 2020; Santana, 2022).

Nevertheless, initiatives such as those of the PAEIIES in Mexico promoted self-identification among indigenous youth in higher education institutions; however, what remained unchanged was the way in which these young people gain access to higher education institutions, and as was the case previously, admission is determined by structural conditions such as poverty, discrimination, and racism, as well as internal barriers stemming from the organization, models, and pedagogical practices of educational institutions (Pérez-Castro, 2024), which shape not only access to higher education but also the quality of educational experiences and the actual likelihood of graduation.

Beginning in 2012, upon the conclusion of the PHE, the commitment to affirmative action became part of what some educational institutions undertook in various ways to sustain, for example, the PAEIIES, regarding the provision of scholarships and other academic support for Indigenous students and, in some cases, for Afro-Mexicans as well—such as the University Program for the Study of Cultural Diversity and Interculturality (PUIC, 2024) at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Since then, the capacities developed through these initiatives have led some institutions to continue implementing strategies such as tutoring, support units for indigenous students, and awareness-raising efforts across various sectors within universities, while various initiatives have also been promoted at the national level. Among these were graduate scholarships offered by the Graduate Scholarship Program for Indigenous Peoples (PROBEPI) through CIESAS–CONACYT (now SECIHTI) and the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI, formerly the National Indigenous Institute, INI) (Gallart; Márquez; Ceballos, 2022). UNAM promoted the development of a proposal to identify its Indigenous students within its upper secondary education system (high schools) and across its various faculties. However, some studies have pointed out that barriers to admission remain; for example, the university requires a grade point average from the previous educational level, and the training of its academic advisors was also noted as a weakness (Velasco Cruz, 2012). Regarding indigenous universities (UI), among various aspects of their achievements, the report highlighted the value placed on university education in indigenous regions and for indigenous students, with an effort to incorporate indigenous languages; however, it also noted some difficulties in engaging with indigenous communities, as well as the need to consolidate the continuity of their governing and academic bodies (Mateos; Dietz, 2013).

Within the framework of the latest reforms to the General Education Law (DOF, 2019) and the General Higher Education Law (DOF, 2021), measures are being promoted to interculturalize higher education, as well as to expand coverage, guarantee its compulsory and free nature, offer support such as scholarships, and eliminate barriers to admission. To ensure coverage, new institutions of higher education were created in various regions of the country, such as the Benito Juárez University for Well-being, the Rosario Castellanos National University, and new campuses of intercultural universities with priority access for the indigenous population (Government of Mexico, 2025).

Regarding scholarships, several programs have been launched for students at various educational levels —including both Indigenous and Afro-Mexican students— and are awarded directly to eligible applicants, not necessarily as part of efforts to strengthen specific programs or initiatives. As for the elimination of barriers to admission, this remains an area yet to be fully implemented, as restrictions in higher education persist through requirements for prior grade point averages and entrance exams, which, depending on the type of institution —public, private, autonomous, under the jurisdiction of the SEP, among others— are part of educational frameworks that shape this level of education.

Discussing equity in access, retention, and degree completion/graduation in higher education for Indigenous students requires analyzing the impact of Indigenous-focused policies and so-called intercultural policies, which —since the 1970s— have been promoted primarily in basic education in Latin America. We note that the issue of indigenous higher education cannot be assessed and positioned as a targeted, compensatory action or an achievement in and of itself without placing at the center of the analysis the processes initiated in educational proposals and programs preceding higher education aimed at the indigenous population —programs that have been developed in parallel, in an inequitable and precarious manner, as a specific modality for indigenous peoples within the framework of the so-called general education system.

Methodology

The research was conducted using a qualitative and interpretive approach (Vasilachis, 2011; Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). The ethnographic method enabled us to explore discourses and beliefs related to the research topic gradually. Based on this, we defined a strategy to set aside —and later challenge— the researcher's assumptions and biases and to foster a dialogue with the participants. As a research team composed of faculty members and students, we employed a reflective, collaborative process to engage in dialogue with students from various academic programs (undergraduate and graduate) and to gather their testimonies through interviews. A narrative perspective was incorporated into the interviews to capture the stories that were meaningful to the students in their academic trajectories and experiences at the university, and to identify how they were making sense of and reinterpreting various issues, such as the existence or absence of racist and intercultural discourses and practices, the meaning of intercultural education and for whom it is intended, among other topics.

Data collection was based on interviews with UPN undergraduate and graduate students conducted in 2024 and 2025, some virtually and others in person. In one instance, a group interview was conducted with two students. These included undergraduate students (2 in education, 3 in Sociology of Education), 5 master's students (2 in Educational Development and 3 in Classroom Coexistence Management), and 4 doctoral students (3 in Policy on Socio-Educational Processes and 1 in Education and Diversity). We also took into account three short videos we produced as part of an initiative to eradicate racism in higher education between 2021 and 2022, from which we gathered testimonies from Indigenous and non-Indigenous students as part of a project to eradicate racism at UPN. This project aimed to highlight the existence and persistence of racism at different educational levels and its reproduction at the university, even in the context of intercultural and inclusion policies (Navia Antezana; Czarny, 2024).

The interviews were recorded with the participants' informed consent and transcribed for subsequent analysis. In this article, we present findings on the experience of inhabit at the university, as well as the effects of AA policies on the persistence of structural and institutional racism and on intercultural policies.

Training indigenous Education Professionals at the National Pedagogic University

In the context of demands from indigenous teachers in indigenous schools within the educational subsystem of the General Directorate of Indigenous Education (DGEI) of the SEP —which began in 1978— who lacked specific training, they called for such training. Thus, in 1982, the UPN established the LEI in Ajusco, Mexico City. This program remains active today and was among the first in Mexico and the region to train higher education professionals specifically to support and develop bilingual and intercultural Indigenous education in the rural contexts where these communities are located (Tirzo, 2022).

From its inception, the admissions process for the LEI has featured a distinct approach for indigenous students, not only compared to other undergraduate programs offered at the university but also compared to the admission processes for other institutions of higher education in Mexico. Access to this level of education is generally governed by selection processes that involve institution-specific exams, which typically follow a standardized assessment structure. In some universities, the exams are designed in-house, while in others they are developed by external educational agencies.

At LEI, student admission follows a differentiated process based on an understanding of Indigenous youth's educational background prior to higher education; this process consists of a written exam developed by the university's governing body and an interview. This strategy acknowledges students' educational trajectories, which are marked by precarious access to basic and upper secondary education in their own communities or regions, as well as by economic difficulties that affect their ability to remain in school, structural discrimination and racism, which, among other factors, contribute to the suppression of the use of indigenous languages and interaction in school life (Czarny, 2012).

The LEI curriculum, first introduced in 1982, has been revised twice —in 1990 and 2011— and each update has incorporated the main debates, challenges, and experiences surrounding Intercultural Bilingual Education (EIB) (Tirzo, 2022). From its inception to the present, the profile of incoming students has changed. The first cohorts were characterized by the presence of indigenous education teachers —mostly men who spoke an indigenous language and came to the LEI to pursue professional training, that is, to earn a bachelor’s degree, particularly in indigenous education. Since the beginning of this century, the majority of students have been high school graduates —mostly women— with varying levels of proficiency in or even a lack of exposure to indigenous languages (Navia Antezana; Czarny; Salinas, 2019).

A distinguishing feature of this bachelor's program, unlike other programmes offered in recent decades to indigenous students, such as those at the intercultural universities, is that the LEI-UPN in Mexico City attracts young people from diverse Indigenous communities, including some from rural areas with educational backgrounds linked to urban schooling. This experience of diversity within diversity is a valuable asset in the educational process. However, it also poses an educational challenge in terms of language, as students speak a variety of languages. This complexity has made it difficult to develop a language teaching strategy at the institution. Data from before the pandemic indicated that nearly 40 graduating classes had completed the LEI program, totaling approximately 1,300 graduates —most of whom identify as Indigenous and, in many cases, are proficient in speaking and writing an Indigenous language (Czarny; Salinas, 2021).

It was following the educational policies of 2001 that the first intercultural universities and programs for some teacher-training colleges with an intercultural bilingual focus in preschool and elementary school were established in Mexico¹. In the context in which these latter projects were developed, public policies promoted multicultural reforms that included the agenda of educational interculturality, while at the same time the State limited the territorial and autonomy rights of indigenous peoples; that is, the multi-intercultural discourse was expanded but the connection to and right to territory were not recognized, thereby reinforcing security control and social criminalization (Hernández; Sieder; Sierra, 2011). The AA for higher education institutions was developed during this period, and to date, other policies have been developed to expand inclusion and interculturalism, as shown above.

Intercultural and Anti-Racist Perspectives in Higher Education

In Latin America, AA in HEIs has been the subject of debate. Critics have argued that it has been promoted primarily as a compensatory measure, neglecting structural and institutional conditions that significantly impact the educational trajectories of indigenous students. In light of this debate, we maintain that racism is embedded in institutional structures, programs, and practices and significantly affects both the education and personal lives of students. We view racism as an ideology that remains present in the university setting because the approach to interculturality that has been adopted thus far is functional in nature, a perspective from which power relations affecting the Indigenous population are often denied (López-Hurtado, 2019; Tubino, 2007). In this regard, there has been a debate on the AA from an intercultural perspective and through anti-racist proposals or initiatives to combat racism (Velasco Cruz, 2016; Castillo; Ocoró, 2023; Mato, 2023). Hence, its presence as an ideology is embedded in institutions at both the normative and institutional levels (Mato, 2023), and it continues to persist within these institutions, taking on —or mutating into— new forms and mechanisms (Velasco Cruz, 2012; Carlos, 2014), in order to continue operating through the differentiation, segregation, and exclusion of the student body (Czarny; Navia; Velasco Cruz; Salinas, 2023; Navia Antezana; Czarny, 2024).

As a form of affirmative action, AA can become a double-edged sword. While it opens doors to highlight the presence of Indigenous students and revalue their languages and cultures as a practice of subjective empowerment, it can also reinforce stereotypes about who is Indigenous and who is not. This has reignited forms of discrimination and covert racism, as well as questions about indigenous authenticity in light of the support granted to them —scholarships, computer labs, and other academic resources— based on their ethnic status, as opposed to the rest of the student body, which does not have access to the same support (Navia Antezana; Czarny; Salinas, 2020).

From an inclusion perspective, AF is viewed not only as a mechanism to support the admission, retention, and graduation of Indigenous students in higher education, but also as a political strategy in the struggle for the recognition of individual rights as well as collective rights in debates on social and epistemic justice (Tubino, 2007)² .

In the policy arena, there have been initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean since the mid-1970s, such as the Regional Conference on Higher Education (CRES), through which proposals for the higher education of indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants were promoted. At the most recent conference held in Brasilia in 2024, known as CRES+5 (UNESCO-IESALC, 2024), among the issues that have gained momentum to promote the recognition of cultural, linguistic, and epistemic diversity, as well as a series of strategies for strengthening higher education at various levels, including intercultural education as a cross-cutting theme, the promotion of indigenous languages through higher education, and the recognition of ancestral and community knowledge. The document also highlights the need for community leaders and other actors to participate in implementing these actions.

However, there is a gap in the implementation of the CREES recommendations for higher education, and this may be partly due to the current challenges facing higher education institutions (HEIs), which are affected by various factors such as reduced financial support, difficulties in renewing the academic faculty, an evaluation system that perpetuates neoliberal bias, the challenges posed by artificial intelligence, and the ever-widening inequality gaps.

Additionally, since 2012, the National University of Tres de Febrero (UNTREF, Argentina) has been running the Higher Education and Indigenous Peoples and Afro-Descendants in Latin America Program (ESIAL), an academic and research initiative led by Daniel Mato and from this program emerged in 2018 the UNESCO Chair on Higher Education and Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendants in Latin America (UNESCO-UNTREF Chair, 2025). Through extensive research conducted with academics and leaders —including Indigenous, non-Indigenous, and Afro-descendant individuals— the program documents university experiences that employ various approaches to implementing and integrating an intercultural perspective, bilingual education, and ethno-education, as well as engaging with communities in diverse processes aimed at their survival and development through a range of strategies and interventions (Castillo; Ocoró, 2023; Kaseker; Amaral; Rocha; Perrude, 2024; Gómez Gallegos, 2018; Czarny; Navia; Velasco Cruz; Salinas, 2023).

Over the past decade in Mexico, projects have been launched by professional organizations and indigenous communities that propose alternative models of higher education, such as the Communal University in Oaxaca (UACO), an initiative that falls under the categories of community and communalism (Mendoza; Olivera; Silva, 2023). These projects are challenging the field of higher education through concepts rooted in the community and operating within community contexts, guided by their own organizational, academic, and pedagogical principles.

The path opened up by communities and ethnopolitical organizations to advance their own proposals poses challenges to centralized educational models and interpelates the notion of the common good and diversity, which have run through the historical debate on the construction of educational systems.

Results

Affirmative Action Strategies at the University

Since the 1990s, the National Pedagogical University has been a pioneer in offering academic support, tutoring, and specialized programs for Indigenous students, long before the PAEIIES and Pathways-ANUIES initiatives were established as national programs in 2001 (Didou, 2006). Starting in 2003, specific support units were established within the Academic Area for Diversity and Interculturality, which also houses the LEI. It began with the Academic Support Unit for Indigenous Students (UAAEI), which was restructured in 2006 as the Unit for Services and Programs in Indigenous Languages and Cultures (USPELCI). These subunits were institutionally recognized and were designed to support the academic performance of the university’s Indigenous students (Nivón, 2012).

Among the initiatives reported by USPELCI prior to 2012 were: logistical and academic support at the LEI; dissemination of calls for applications and guidance on entering degree programs, including assistance with the admission exam; personalized orientation for incoming Indigenous students; support for applying for scholarships, which varied by semester and included living expenses and transportation; printing, scanning, and equipment loan services (computers, instructional materials); organization of relevant courses, workshops, and events; support with degree certification procedures, as well as printing and binding of final theses; computer-assisted services, including maintenance and guidance on equipment use (PAAEI, 2025).

In 2012, after the Pathways program ended, the unit —which had been institutionalized and approved by the university's Academic Council for these activities— was renamed the Academic Support Program for Indigenous Students (PAAEI) and is now without external funding. The academic department's website, which is located and closely linked to the LEI, reports that it continues to fulfill its mission of providing academic, logistical, and cultural support to Indigenous students (PAAEI, 2025).

However, since 2000, ANUIES has promoted the tutoring program (ANUIES, 2000) as a national strategy. As part of its support for the university community, in line with public education policies, the university offered very low-cost dining services. This initiative has created a supportive environment that has helped a large segment of students —including Indigenous students— stay in school; the university also provides very low-cost photocopying services and transportation for the entire community, with pickup points at various locations throughout the city.

Tensions and Unintended Consequences of Affirmative Action

In this paper, we have set out to examine affirmative action at the university, drawing on research projects we have conducted on interculturality and anti-racism in recent years, during which we documented the persistence of racism within the institution. Throughout the history of the LEI and the university itself, certain conditions have emerged that have facilitated the access, retention, and graduation of Indigenous students. This has allowed indigenous students, in certain contexts, to inhabit the university environment from a position of recognition of their difference —a recognition that develops through reflection on that difference during their undergraduate studies (Czarny; Salinas, 2021)— which has been distinct from the experiences of discrimination and racism they faced in their previous educational journeys. However, multiple forms of racism continue to manifest, even though the indigenous presence at the university is part of the education system’s recognition of this as a right for indigenous peoples and as differentiated institutional policies.

Unexpected reactions persist among students and university actors toward the differentiated support provided to Indigenous students, primarily under the LEI. Some students and faculty members question that the support allocated its only to Indigenous students; when others non indigenous students share common inequalities, as recounted by a graduate student:

It happened in the master's program… where people said that indigenous students studying there had more privileges than regular students, and that this was unfair. Yes, and we are talking about an issue that goes beyond just racism, because racism is expressed when we feel that we are superior to another person … Seeing this aspect of: it is that they have more privileges or can apply for more scholarships or I do not know, something like that… I mean, the issue is: why does he, who is Indigenous —who is inferior— have it?

(EPL, 2024).

The interviewee emphasizes the existence of racism in conversations with his peers, which is expressed through angry comments or complaints about what they consider to be privileges. Similar comments were also documented from teachers. These reveal the difficulty in acknowledging the inequalities that Indigenous peoples —in this case, the students— have historically faced and continue to face. In opposition to the AAs, there appears to be institutional resistance, which becomes a barrier for Indigenous students. These comments are not naive; by circulating in various institutional spaces as racist acts, they seek to discredit support for Indigenous students while simultaneously belittling their presence. We also see this in the testimony of two graduate students:

Well, I suddenly heard in some classes that there was some dissatisfaction with the Bachelor's Degree in Indigenous Education because they used to, yeah, fill the student representative positions…. In my experience, I always saw them together… they were always together and organized many activities at the university, unlike the rest of us students who tend to be more on the quiet side

(Emp; Emj, 2024).

This testimony reflects a negative attitude among students from other degree programs toward LEI students. They are criticized for occupying political spaces, such as seats on the university's student council —which has indeed happened on several occasions, as LEI students are committed to participating in and occupying these representative roles within the university. This discontent, which stems in part from the increased visibility of Indigenous students, also functions as a challenge to student empowerment —in this case, through their occupation of political or other spaces at the university. This results in a practice that seeks to limit —or, through criticism, to place non-indigenous students at an advantage. What no indigenous students might need to reflect on and ask themselves is why they remain silent, as the previous testimony points out.

We could point out that, as students receive support and become more empowered, perspectives on who should or should not be part of —or recognized within— the institution become increasingly polarized, generating, as we have noted, forms of denial of the other. This denial also manifests more directly, as a graduate student describes:

“Yes, I have seen those racist manifestations, based on the idea of feeling superior to the other person, belittling what they say, belittling where they come from, where they studied, even going so far as to say, ‘What? What are you doing here?’”

(Epl, 2024).

This and other testimonies indicate that Indigenous students are frequently questioned regarding their presence at the university. Questions like “What?” and “What are you doing here?” reveal that their presence is seen as strange or out of place, given that these students come from various parts of the country; yet, in a way, it also calls into question their right to inhabit the academic spaces of the university. Even when their presence at the institution is accepted, it is often reduced to a functional and folklorized status. For example, when celebrating events such as the creation of the Day of the Dead altar in November, a date that in Mexico has been incorporated as part of the tradition known as All Saints’ Day³ . However, this does not happen without resistance from students in other programs and from the institution itself, which often questions the support provided to the LEI for this activity. This is not without contradictions, as interest in these activities is also evident among both those who reject Indigenous students at the institution and those who are interested in or sensitive to diversity in the country.

Interculturality and Racism as Issues for Everyone

The topic of interculturality as an approach and perspective in education does not appear to have been addressed in the university's degree programs, aside from a few undergraduate courses or specific cases at the graduate level. Not all students acknowledge having addressed interculturality in their degree programs, although they do acknowledge, to varying degrees, having discussed the topic. As we have noted, the incorporation of the topic of interculturality has not had an impact on the eradication of racism, as it is alive and well in students' interactions, as we see in the following testimony from a graduate student:

I've heard racist comments in the form of jokes… such as: "You are black” or "You are dark-skinned [color mole]⁴." I have also heard the same people say, “It’s just that I’m a person of color…" So, they say it, but they said it themselves, and you do not know how to react. And then, suddenly, everyone else laughs, right? Yes, I have heard racist comments —again, like… Concealed within comedy, disguised, or I do not know how to describe them. There is a type of humour that involves making fun of oneself, so I feel like that is how they do it. They make fun of themselves, but they do it based on their skin color, as if trying to make others laugh. However, they are the ones making the jokes, and it goes both ways… I have seen that happen, but it is interesting because there is also a sense of guilt. They do it and then apologize (Eli, 2024).

This account reveals a mechanism of differentiation among students in which references to skin color take the form of comedy, ridicule, and guilt. It appears to be a game in which they try to emphasize their skin color to set themselves apart. Through irony and sarcasm, they engage in a game that uses self-references to their own skin color, but also to hurt others in the process of this differentiation. Hence the guilt and apology, which are expressed but appear as part of the game —as a form of self-justification— as if it were inevitable to engage in this kind of comedy based on racial markers. Here, racism is present through a ritual that constantly reinforces a system of racist beliefs in interactions within the university.

On the other hand, from a more critical perspective among the students, we found that while they acknowledge that the topic of interculturality and diversity has been addressed by some faculty members in their courses, they do not find consistency between what their professors say and what they do. For example, there is tension surrounding the role that academia —and in this case, academics— play in making Indigenous peoples or Indigenous students visible or giving them a voice, when this is done from a position of superiority, or —as one of them points out— from a colonial position. Let us look at the testimony of a non-Indigenous graduate student:

The point is not that [indigenous students] should be made visible —they have always been there. The point is to allocate spaces so that Indigenous peoples can have their voices heard, because saying we are giving them a voice is, once again, to treat them as inferior… the problem is that these spaces have been co-opted and dominated by a rationality that assumes itself to be the only one, the universal one, and the others —yes— must be assimilated, must be ‘whitened’

(Epl, 2024).

As can be seen, academia is also a space where racism manifests itself, even when it expresses an interest in recognizing Indigenous peoples. It is racism insofar as the forms of power concealed by functional interculturalism are not questioned, or racism is combated without questioning the social and historical inequalities that affect Indigenous peoples and that impact the retention and academic performance of Indigenous students throughout their university careers. Let's look at this through the testimony of an indigenous student at LEI, Diego Landeta Ortega::

Some professors and students reproduce racist practices and attitudes within classrooms and on campus. These cases become evident when students struggle to speak Spanish —since it is not their native language— which [at times] becomes a source of ridicule among students and teachers. Furthermore, the knowledge and wisdom of indigenous communities and peoples continue to be marginalized and excluded from higher education curricula and programs

(Leres, 2021).

The testimony provided by an LEI graduate —who is currently a doctoral student— reflects how he and several of his peers experience the university environment, particularly, as this excerpt illustrates, in classroom interactions. Being identified as a speaker of an Indigenous language creates situations of intolerance and racism not only from peers but also from faculty members. Furthermore, he highlights the evident absence from the curriculum of various university programs of topics related to the knowledge and wisdom of Indigenous peoples, which he also views as a manifestation of racism.

As a structural and institutional problem, racism faces no barriers in the university setting. It draws no clear boundaries between its perpetrators, who can be faculty members or even peers who have themselves been victims.

Another issue we want to address is the need to revisit racism across the university's programs and classes —a need felt not only by Indigenous students but also by non-Indigenous students, who view addressing this issue as an essential pedagogical component of the university curriculum. Obdulia Martínez Torres, a graduate of the LEI, speaks about this:

I think it is important for these issues [of racism] to be brought to light not only in classrooms or in student groups, but throughout the entire university, and it is also important for professors to address these issues in their classes —not only in the Bachelor's in Indigenous Education program but also in other degree programs— so that students can become more aware of these issues. We can all get along better, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students (Leres, 2021).

This raises a point for reflection on interculturality and racism as topics that must be addressed in all degree programs —in this case, at the university level— and in light of their complexity within contemporary processes of inequality and the revaluation of identity. Undoubtedly, this perspective on education has opened the possibility of examining diversity in Mexico and across Latin America, focusing primarily on Indigenous peoples and, more recently, on people of African descent. However, the incorporation of intercultural approaches into education does not directly resolve the issue of eliminating racism, as it is a complex phenomenon that requires other reflective strategies that challenge the university and its actors (Castillo; Ocoró, 2023; Tubino, 2007).

Finally, we analyze the complexity of addressing the fight against racism, particularly in higher education institutions (HEIs), considering that issues such as the need to challenge institutions regarding their colonial nature are intertwined with questions about the place of mestizo identities —raised through guilt and finger-pointing— and the tensions that arise in relation to other identities.

Conclusions

As far as Mexico is concerned, the affirmative action (AA) proposed by the Pathways program has increased the visibility of students of Indigenous origin in higher education institutions. However, evaluations of this program have highlighted both achievements and limitations, primarily regarding the access, retention, and graduation of Indigenous students, as the structural barriers linked to inequalities and racism have not been eradicated.

Throughout this text, it becomes evident that the pursuit of equity in higher education through affirmative action for indigenous students can also generate unintended consequences. On the one hand, such measures —such as awarding scholarships— have reignited latent racism among non-indigenous students who also demand financial support as college students facing discrimination and inequality. On the other hand, the nationwide expansion of strategies —particularly scholarships— as part of efforts to promote inclusion in higher education does not necessarily guarantee this support, for example, for Indigenous students covered by the LEI, since currently a high percentage are unable to access these scholarships due to the criteria established for their allocation.

While the AA sought to directly support the access, retention, and graduation of Indigenous students in higher education institutions, it was also expected to gradually change the perspective of the broader university community on diversity —specifically, Indigenous diversity. As shown in this work, racism persisted due to institutional resistance and as part of structural racism.

The recognition of diversity —which was gradually gained prominence within the discourse of national education policy— seems to trigger reactions that run counter to its intended goals. The problem is that, as Ahmed (2012) points out, attention to diversity in higher education institutions often remains superficial, serving as a performative gesture that creates the illusion of inclusion without altering the underlying structures of racism or inequality.

The way the issue of diversity has been addressed through the presence of Indigenous students in the LEI has led to problems such as the denial of otherness or its recognition solely from a folkloric perspective. Thus, national inclusion policies —which, in this case, are framed through an intercultural approach for all— can contribute to the reproduction of racism if they are not implemented across various areas of the educational field and through different strategies that challenge the functional uses of diversity.

To date, there has been an expansion of opportunities in higher education, as well as the awarding of scholarships and financial aid to Indigenous, non-Indigenous, and Afro-descendant students, primarily enrolled in universities classified as intercultural or located in regions with high levels of marginalization and poverty. In this process of redefining university spaces and the right to scholarships access, the LEI, wich emerged before PATHWAYS, rather than as a consequence of it, —faces challenges very similar to those confronting refence universities: however, unlike thes institutios, it encounters specific obstacles such as the allocation of scholarships to its students.

Rather than emerging from an affirmative action policy, the LEI is grounded in a different intentionality. It responds to the need for a teaching staff committed to training professionals in indigenous education capable of working in both rural and urban settings, where children and youth from various indigenous peoples receive their education —both within current indigenous education modalities and within the general education system.

Notes

Notes

¹

Teacher training colleges in Mexico are responsible for training teachers, and the National Pedagogical University focuses on training education professionals.

²

In Mexico, unlike in other countries, the quota system is not in place. Its origins date back to the 1960s, during the civil rights and women’s rights movements in the United States.

³

In Mexico, the Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1 and 2. It is not a mourning ceremony, but rather an event to remember and honor the deceased.

⁴

^“Color mole” means “the color of mole sauce”. It refers to a Mexican dish that is very dark, an also is named black mole. In this case, it’s used to describe a person with dark skin.

Availability of research data

The dataset supporting the results of this study is published in the article itself.

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Editor in charge:

Iara Bonin

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  30 Oct 2026
• Date of issue
  2026

History

• Received
  15 Sept 2025
• Accepted
  19 Dec 2025