Indigenismo

Indigenismo

Latin American movement pressing for a dominant social and political role for Indians in countries where they constitute a majority. Its adherents draw a sharp distinction between Indians and people of European ancestry, who have dominated the Indian majorities since the 16th-century Spanish and Portuguese conquest. The movement became influential in Mexico with the revolution of 1910–20; it was particularly strong during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas (1934–40), who made serious efforts to reconstitute the country in accordance with its Indian heritage. In Peru it is associated with the APRA movement.