ABSTRACT
In terms of intercultural education, Mexico is a very special case. Educators within the country have to deal with the fourth largest population growth rate in the world, a long-overlooked and disadvantaged indigenous population with its own languages, political and economic refugees from the south, and emigration from the poor rural countryside to its major cities or border cities and then across the porous border with its northern neighbor. Thus, this chapter follows a different format than most of the others in this volume and includes the following: a description of the demographic dynamics of Mexico, an overview of the Mexican education system, the indigenous population and current programs for indigenous education, policies for dealing with immigrants from the south, characteristics of emigration to the north, and, examples of binational intercultural education programs on both sides of the border as both the Mexican and U.S. governments recognize their respective responsibilities. The chapter concludes with some policy guidelines for intercultural education in Mexico.
