Southern Mexico

The indigenous south, the poorest part of Mexico and the part least governed from the capital. Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero hold the largest concentrations of indigenous peoples in the country - Oaxaca alone has sixteen recognised groups and a linguistic diversity comparable to a continent - and Zapotec, Mixtec and Maya civilisations built cities here long before the valley of Mexico dominated. Monte Alban and Palenque are their surviving centres. The Spanish conquest reached the region late and unevenly, and the last independent Maya polity held out until 1697. Colonial and republican governments alike treated the south as a source of labour and commodities - cochineal, coffee, timber - while investing little, and land concentration produced Emiliano Zapata's rising in 1910 from Morelos on the region's northern edge. The Zapatista uprising in Chiapas began on the day NAFTA took effect in 1994 and made indigenous autonomy a national question. Migration north has emptied villages. Oaxacan cuisine, textiles and mezcal are among Mexico's best-known cultural exports. Usos y costumbres allows many municipalities to govern by customary law. The region covers Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guerrero and neighbouring states. Oaxaca alone accounts for a large share of Mexico's linguistic diversity. Monte Alban, Palenque and the Oaxaca historic centre are World Heritage sites. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is the narrowest part of the country. Guelaguetza is its best-known festival. Mole and mezcal are Oaxacan. The region sends more migrants north per head than any other part of Mexico, and remittances sustain many villages entirely. Chiapas produces most of Mexico’s coffee.

• Existed: 900 CE – present
• Type: Entity