Anti-racist tools in the field of indigenous law at UNAM

Abstract

The "Indigenous Law" curriculum at the Faculty of Law of UNAM is designed with an anti-racist approach. It involves a multidisciplinary analysis of indigenous peoples and their interactions with the Mexican legal system. This subject approaches legal norms from a human rights perspective, aiming to expand law students' understanding of their environment through active participation. It incorporates the guide to substantive equality as a legal tool, alongside concepts of discrimination embedded in legal norms, to equip students with the tools to propose anti-racist actions. The curriculum is structured into modules that cover the historical, statistical, and normative context of recognizing the cultural diversity of the Mexican nation. It includes theoretical, methodological, and normative content, as well as case analyses focusing on the rights of indigenous and Afro-Mexican Black communities. This teaching approach has been in place since 2022. Initially, each student in the 6th semester begins with limited or inaccurate knowledge of the topic, often coupled with ingrained prejudices. Students select a research topic based on the analysis of a specific case over the semester. Their findings, which reflect their interests, are presented in an essay required to pass the course. The goal is to nurture a new generation of students with a multidisciplinary profile, capable of transforming their environment without essentializing diverse cultural identities.