The right to learn our (m)other tongues: indigenous languages and neoliberal citizenship in El Salvador and Mexico

Abstract

This article critically examines bilingual, intercultural education policies and practices in El Salvador and Mexico. In the context of legacies of assimilation and neoliberal homogenization, certain kinds of citizenship become prioritized over others. This is visible where performances of local identity clash with state mandates about educational content and the language of school instruction. I address the effects of state agendas in schools on the politics of multiculturalism and argue that the absence of state commitment to bilingual, intercultural education undermines democratization efforts by marginalizing certain types of citizens more than others. By considering ethnic minority education in both El Salvador and Mexico, I analyze in a comparative perspective the ways that indigenous people have been rendered invisible as citizens unless they are willing to assimilate in the arena of formal education.

Keywords:

• Education
• language
• indigenous
• assimilation
• El Salvador
• Mexico

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Interviewees were split between those who want to be called indígenas, because the label comes with rights, and those who want to move away from a legacy of racism by using pueblos originarios. Generally, interviewees in Chiapas, Mexico, use indigenous while interviewees in El Salvador use originarios. I alternate both to accommodate these diverging views and to avoid repetition.

2. For a list of legal instruments for linguistic rights, see: http://www.unesco.org/most/ln2int.htm#UN.