Central Part of Mexican National Identity
Mexican identity was shaped during the 19th century not by the elite in the society but the ordinary people who were limited in both social and economic resources. Even after independence in 1821, there were persistent issues of political instability, military uprising and foreign invasions that led to social problems among the citizens. As Gillingham puts it, the village benefitted from Cuauhtémoc bones through economic progression that led to major development programs and achievement of political prominence. Cuauhtémoc was a symbol for the elites before it decided to embrace the lives of the ordinary people, thereby, leading to efforts that would later improve equality in the society. The joint effort of the ordinary people was, therefore, the reason Mexico managed to create a new nation that brought everyone together. Besides that need for nationalism, people were more interested on the urge to earn a living so as to eliminate the disparities that existed between the elites and the disadvantaged in the society. The concept of Mexican Nationalism leads to understanding of the role played by indigenismo concept as addressed by Gillingham in addressing the issue of nationalism. The people’s culture is, therefore, an important aspect that could be relied upon to create desirable changes in the society. The national identity of Mexico was brought about by the images, heroes, narratives and institutions such as schools that led to the Mexican revolution which was to later determine the identity of Mexico. The various parties involved in the revolution realized the need for reconstruction of the social aspects of the Mexican people in an effort to see closer relationships between the elite in power and social representation being achieved. Mexico has traditionally been linked with strong provincial as well as local traditional identities where people meticulously relate with their state with typecasts about people from different places.
How Mexican National Identity Changes Over Time
Changes have occurred over the years such that strong regional and local identities exist thereby leading to the concept of many Mexicans to accommodate the interests of the diverse cultures. Mexico has since its independence undergone several invasion with invaders such as the French forming coalition with the elite group that led to civil wars. However, civil wars in Mexico led to major victories such that in the end, the nation was able to be on her feet once again as it undertook the initiative to develop and stabilize itself economically and politically. As discussed in the Mexican Reader, all that was needed was strengthening of the states and nation building such that there would be no more slavery and that equality would become a major component of the nation building process. Mexico was trying as hard as it could to ensure that it catch up economically and politically with nations across the region that had made significant steps in stabilizing and improving their economic growth. However, the tension between the rich and the poor continued to derail nationalism efforts with incidences of disparities between the peasants and large landowners and the influential class against the middle level individuals. The result of the disparity was the Mexican Revolution that led to violent civil wars. Nevertheless, there are still efforts aimed at ensuring unity and homogeneity among Mexicans with the initiatives developing Mexico into a self-conscious nation. All races are legally equal in Mexico thereby proving the steps made towards improving homogeneity in the nation since the leaders believed that it was only through accommodating racial differences that the nation could make significant steps in the nation building process. Besides racial homogeneity, the concept of cultural uniformity has also played a key role in changing the national identity in Mexico. Appreciation of cultural differences and diversity has led to pluricultural national identity such that everyone within the territories is considered as equal regardless of their racial and cultural affiliations.
Formation of Nationalism and how it is formed
Nationalism is based on the need for individuals’ interests to be replaced by collective interest such that the people in the nation have common goals. The purpose of nationalism is to ensure that everyone in the economy participates equally and that any forms of inequalities are eliminated. People identify the need to create a government that is in accordance with their will such that through the general will, it is possible for the voice of the people to be heard. Its link to political behavior implies that the politicians and civil groups are among the parties who play a major role in bringing the concept of nationalism such that it is possible to improve the social and economic well-being of the nation. The growth of the middle class in Mexico could also be attributed to formation of nationalism since the middle class began taking roles in political power that advocated for the need for a democratic political theory. This implies that nationalism is focused on the end for equality and liberty for everyone in the society since the nation is to a larger extent inseparable from the people. The concept of nationalism became widespread on the 19th century, the time when nationalism was seen as the only way to enhance unity and independence from foreign invasions. With those in the rural Mexico realizing the need to stand together to eliminate inequalities and invasion, citizens came together to stage major demonstrations that were against forms of slavery that had persistent among Mexican who had less economic power.
Multiple and Competing forms of Nationalism
There are incidences where there could be competing forms of nationalism such that while other realize the need for uniformity in culture and races, others are less concerned with a homogenous types of culture and hence prefer decision of the society on the basis of racial belonging, economic endowment and ethnic belonging. As such, there is tendency to shift away from the ideology of nationalist as people identify themselves with the factors that lead to the formation of a nationalist state. Such factors include; hostile treatment from foreign invaders, the memories of battles, languages and the customs among the people. Various forms of nationalism exist including civic, ethnic and cultural nationalism. Civic nationalism is formed by the need for political legitimacy such that people identify the need for active participation in the affairs of the government. This implies that concerns are raised on the need for the government to address the will of the people and deliver the needs of its citizens. Ethnic nationalism is also used in the cases where the nation defines itself on the basis of ethnicity. This implies that citizens are divided into groups that share the same language and ideologies such that the contributions of other groups could result to forms of resistance and unrests in the society.
The concept of tribalism present itself in ethnic nationalism such as division in the society are based on tribal affiliations with the dominant tribes having more say that the minorities. Cultural nationalism is also common where the nation is divided on the basis of shared cultural attitudes and beliefs. Nations could also be defined by regional nationalism that is usually accompanied by other aspects such as ethnicity, culture and language. Reliance on religion as a marker for group identify rather that a sign of motivation for nationalism could lead to issues such that in the end, there tends to be competition among the people from different religious affiliations. The cases of multiple and competing forms of nationalism are all present within the Mexican territories considering the fact that there is cultural diversity in Mexico that contribute to the issue of having minority and majority groups. However, religious nationalism in Mexico is not persistent as many of the Mexican are Roman Catholics. However, minority religions also realize the need for their rights to worship to be protected such that they are allowed to worship without fear of discriminating.
Bibliography
Druckman, Daniel. "Nationalism, Patriotism, and Group Loyalty: A Social Psychological Perspective." Mershon International Studies Review, 1994: 43-68.
Gillingham, Paul. Cuauhtemoc bones: Forging National Identity in Modern Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 2010.
Joseph, Gilbert, and Timothy Henderson. The Mexico Reader: History, Culture and Politics. London: Duke University Press, 2009.
