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 Editorials | At Issue | May 2005 
Mexico Study: Groups Feel Discrimination
 Wire services
| | Asked which part of society is most vulnerable, Mexicans singled out the elderly, followed by Indians, the disabled and people with AIDS. |
The first nationwide government survey on discrimination found a majority of women, Indian minorities, the disabled and homosexuals feel they are singled out for mistreatment even though most Mexicans say they condemn such behavior.
Indians and people with disabilities are the most likely to feel shut out of work opportunities, according to the study involving 5,600 interviews across Mexico conducted by the National Commission for the Prevention of Discrimination and the Social Development Department.
"Nine out of 10 people with disabilities, nine out of 10 Indians, nine out of 10 homosexuals and nine out of 10 elderly people consider that there is discrimination against their condition," Secretary of Social Development Josefina Vázquez said, while releasing highlights of the opinion survey.
"When you ask in general of Mexicans what we think of discrimination, we are accustomed to rejecting it and usually affirm that, of course, we do not agree with it."
One in three people of Indian heritage surveyed said they he had been subject to discrimination in the past year, and one in five said they had been refused work for being Indian.
The study made no mention of Mexico's tiny population of blacks. President Vicente Fox has come under criticism at home and abroad after saying on Friday that Mexicans in the United States do the work that blacks don't want to do. He apologized on Monday.
The study delved into attitudes toward and among women.
About 24 percent of Mexican men agreed that women should be given a pregnancy test when they apply for a job, and 23 percent agreed with the statement that many women are raped because they provoke men, according to the study.
Meanwhile, about 20 percent of women surveyed said women are to blame for their own bad treatment.
"When we ask Mexican men if they agree with chauvinist attitudes, almost 100 percent of the answers are the same and say under no circumstances," Vazquez said. "But immediately when we ask if the women should have equality of access (to work) they not only answer the opposite but also say women should have to do additional tasks and that some of those women should be excluded or treated differently." Asked which part of society is most vulnerable, Mexicans singled out the elderly, followed by Indians, the disabled and people with AIDS.
Mexico amended its constitution in 2001 to make discrimination a crime and created its first government prevention programs in 2003.
Organizers of the study said Mexico was reluctant to examine how it treats women and minorities until recently. |
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