After a 17-day investigation of the situation of indigenous peoples living in seven of Mexico’s poorest states, United Nations indigenous rights special rapporteur Rodolfo Stavenhagen called for greater indigenous autonomy as the only hope for improvement of the current human rights situation. In a 35-minute meeting with Mexican president Vicente Fox, Stavenhagen indicated that disputes over land were the most significant of the many problems facing indigenous Mexicans, and are the source of much of the violence and human rights violations directed against them. He also denounced the inhuman treatment of indigenous farm workers on commercial farms in northern Mexico and the United States and called for better treatment of indigenous peoples in the courts, in addition to the establishment of more anti-poverty programs. These recommendations follow closely on the heels of a public address made by the president of the National Confederation of the Peasants of Mexico, who claimed that Mexico’s rural areas are not a priority of the Mexican government. Currently the majority of Mexico’s indigenous population lives in rural areas and subsists below the poverty level.
