Citizenship, Indigenous Autonomy

This study examines the impact of the legalization
of an indigenous model of municipal government known
as usos y costumbres on the political system of
Oaxaca, a predominantly rural state in southern
Mexico. Since 1995, 418 of Oaxaca s 570
municipalities, accounting for 36% of the state s
population, legally elect their municipal
authorities through community assemblies, in which
voting is open and public, and the suffrage is
limited active participants in the social and
political life of the community (typically, able-
bodied adult males). Using elite interviews, census
data and electoral data, this study examines how the
legalization of usos y costumbres has affected
citizenship, partisanship, and electoral behaviour
in state and local politics in Oaxaca. As Oaxaca is
the only Latin American polity that recognizes
indigenous municipal autonomy, it provides useful
insight into understanding the extent to which
indigenous peoples' demands for greater local
autonomy are compatible with democratization in the
region. As such, this study may be useful to those
interested in indigenous rights, citizenship,
multiculturalism and democracy.