The collective work has resulted in a political agenda for Afro-Mexican women, they argue.

▲ The second day of activities for the Creators of Dreams and Realities: Indigenous and Afro-Descendant Women in Art program took place at the National Museum of Popular Cultures. The program featured the musical performance of the Las Nietas de Nicolás group. Photo by María Luisa Severiano

Fabiola Palapa Quijas

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, July 27, 2025, p. 4

Afro-Mexican activist Yaritza Herrera Corral, who promotes the country's linguistic and cultural diversity, affirmed that the path toward equality for Afro-descendant women in Mexico is long, but their collective work is key to the political agenda for advancing the defense of their rights.

In the talk "Afrodescendants: The Role of Women in the Long Struggle for Recognition, " which she gave yesterday at the National Museum of Popular Cultures (MNCP), Herrera shared her perspective on the challenges facing Afro-Mexican women.

She pointed out that in the Black Afro-Mexican movement, which formally began in 1997, women's participation was limited and they lacked leading roles. However, for the past 15 years, they have taken the lead and built a specific political agenda for Afro-descendant women.

Herrera Corral, who is originally from the State of Mexico, emphasized that Afro-descendant women have developed support processes for other women to develop leaders and influence their communities. A significant advance has been the recognition of this in Article 2 of the Constitution, although other Latin American countries have made more progress in this regard.

In Yaritza Herrera's opinion, Afro-descendant women in Mexico face gender discrimination, and their participation in leading roles was not part of the movement's initial political agenda.

At the meeting held within the Creators of Dreams and Realities program, the indigenous education specialist recounted the history and progress of Afro-descendants.

He highlighted key points such as the official emergence of the Afro-Mexican movement in 1997 with the first meeting of peoples in El Ciruelo, Oaxaca, convened by priest Glyn Jemmott Nelson of Trinidad and Tobago. The main objective was to reflect on the problems facing Afro-descendant communities and seek recognition of their identity.

The collective work was not only aimed at visibility, but also at the fight for political, legal, and cultural recognition of the Black population in the country, and the work of the movement of our comrades over more than 30 years has given rise to organizations and collectives , Herrera indicated.

Black Mexico, Afrodescendants, and the Alliance for the Strengthening of Indigenous Regions and African American Communities are some of the organizations fighting for the construction of an equitable and racism-free society in the country.

He also considered the constitutional recognition of Afro-Mexican peoples and communities in Article 2 of the Constitution in 2019, and its subsequent reform in 2024, to consider them subjects of public law, to be a significant achievement.

The activist recounted how the national census included the question about self-identification as Afro-descendant and its importance, although she acknowledged that the results do not fully reflect reality due to a lack of adequate training for staff at the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.

In conclusion, the speaker expressed that despite progress, challenges such as racism and raising awareness persist; she also requested support for the communities of Guerrero's Costa Chica region that were affected by Hurricane Erika.