Shortcuts to power. The ambiguities of electoral affirmative quotas for indigenous peoples in Mexico (2018–2024)

Abstract

This article evaluates compliance with affirmative action in electoral matters for Indigenous people during the last  three legislative periods of the Chamber of Deputies. To assess their effectiveness, it analyzes the content of the relevant regulations, as well as the reasons for their moderate fulfillment. Some are related to the content of the legislation itself and others to the resistance of political parties to pluralizing power, which is expressed in the fraudulent actions of non-Indigenous candidates who simulate Indigenous belonging. By documenting the management and positions of Indigenous deputies, we show the dilemmas and challenges they must face. The most significant being the tension between defending the projects and positions of their political party of origin or advocating for the rights of their constituents –namely, the Indigenous peoples– whose interests do not always coincide with those of the State. This indicates that substantive representation that seeks the well-being of Indigenous peoples remains a promise to date.