The self-determination of indigenous peoples and the limits of United Nations advocacy in Guerrero, Mexico (1998-2000)

This essay examines the visit to Mexico in February 2000 by Erica-Irene Daes, then chairperson of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations. I use the occasion of this visit to analyze the relationship between a regional indigenous organization in the state of Guerrero, the Mexican national state, and the United Nations within the larger context of the development of international law. I argue that the persistence today of a centuries-old bias in international law that privileges the "nation-state" and a related individualistic bias in the conception of human rights make UN support for indigenous self-determination highly equivocal. I begin with an examination of the Consejo Guerrerense and how its experience helps to illustrate the issues confronted by the indigenous rights movement in Mexico today. Then I provide background to place this movement and the United Nations in the context of the development of international and human rights law. The discourse of international human rights and the ways in which these rights are defined and advocated by the UN has serious limitations for Indians in Mexico. This is a cautionary tale about the real possibilities for social change in our global world.