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amendment
Mexico (n.): enmienda

ince the second edition of the Atlas of the World
SLanguages was published, major changes have
occurred in Mexico. In August of 2001, a constitutional
amendment declared that Mexico is multicultural. It
stated that indigenous peoples are those who were
living in the land known as Mexico when colonization
began and who, to a certain extent, uphold their own
cultural and social institutions. It further states that
indigenous communities should be able to sustain
and enhance their languages, have their customs and
traditions respected, and that they are entitled to be
backed up and defended by agents and translators
who understand their culture.

In 2003, the linguistic rights of indigenous populations
were recognized by federal law. This included the
Amerindians who, since independence, have taken
residence in the country. Meanwhile, the Instituto
Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI, National Institute
for Indigenous Languages) was established.
It was tasked with protecting indigenous languages
and promoting their development. They also advise the
three levels of government on appropriate policies to
accomplish their goals.

The Education Law was changed in 2006. Speakers of
indigenous languages were given the right to access
educationin their own language as well as in Spanish.
Only Spanish was spoken during classes in the past,
although primary schools in areas where indigenous
languages were spoken taught those languages
as subjects.

66 Reader's Book