My research seeks to understand the differences between the indigenous and the non-indigenous populations in Mexico in terms of poverty and to analyse the reasons for that difference. In particular, the aim is to explore the lack of mobility of the indigenous population, both geographical and social, as well as the role that ethnic discrimination plays.

In terms of the lack of geographical mobility, the investigation will focus on segregation patterns, since a high percentage of the indigenous population live in small isolated rural communities, and there is also an inverse relationship between the village size and the incidence of poverty. It is thus an objective to understand how segregated the indigenous population is, and their reasons for remaining so, instead of migrating to more urbanized places where better employment opportunities may be found.

The thesis will also explore how different social mobility for the indigenous is - at this it is stage expected to be found to be lower for indigenous groups. If measures of mobility show what is expected, interviews and qualitative analysis will help to explore why the indigenous groups are less mobile. Finally, this thesis will explore how these issues relate to ethnic discrimination.