Recuperación resiliente de comunidades indígenas rurales frente a la crisis

This policy brief by Transforma examines the resilience of rural indigenous communities in Mexico and Colombia following the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on two community projects implemented in 2023, the document analyzes how systemic vulnerabilities—including discrimination, lack of public services, and gender inequality—were exacerbated by the crisis. It proposes a resilience-based development agenda that prioritizes community-led decision-making, intersectional policy design, and the integration of youth and women to ensure sustainable recovery and adaptation to future social, environmental, and climate crises.

• Indigenous populations in Mexico and Colombia face deep structural vulnerabilities due to historical discrimination and paternalistic government policies that ignore their cosmovision. In Colombia, 79% of the 1.9 million indigenous people live in rural areas, while in Mexico, over 70% of the 23.2 million indigenous people are rural. These groups face limited access to health and education, scarce dignified employment, and insecurity linked to organized crime and drug trafficking, which often drives migration to urban centers.
• The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected rural indigenous communities, particularly in health and education. In Mexico, the COVID-19 lethality rate in the Sierra Norte de Puebla was 11.8%, more than double the national average of 5.5%. Education was severely hindered by a lack of technology; in Colombia, 95.5% of the indigenous population aged 6 to 24 lacked internet access according to 2018 census data, widening the gap created by virtual education policies.
• Intersectional vulnerabilities significantly impact indigenous women and youth. In Mexico, rural indigenous women faced a poverty level of 73.1% in 2022, compared to 30.2% for non-indigenous men in urban areas. They are limited by unpaid domestic work, patriarchal systems, and lack of land ownership. In Colombia, indigenous youth face high inactivity rates (62.5% in 2018) and are vulnerable to recruitment by illegal armed groups or identity crises due to urban migration.
• Community-led initiatives in Mexico and Colombia demonstrate that strengthening food security and diversifying income are critical for resilience. In the Sierra Norte de Puebla, projects focused on backyard gardens, agro-fertilizers, and community savings boxes to reduce dependence on high-interest loans. In Colombia's Resguardo El Refugio, efforts included recovering 'chagras' (traditional cultivation spaces) and expanding a poultry house with 200 laying hens to create economic opportunities for youth.
• The recovery of ancestral knowledge is essential for the cultural survival of indigenous youth, particularly in the Colombian Amazon. The project in Resguardo El Refugio focused on teaching traditional cultivation and harvesting through 'chagras' to counter the erosion of language and traditions caused by urbanization and violence. The document argues that these traditional practices can be integrated with modern commercialization channels to ensure both self-consumption and economic viability.
• The document recommends a shift in public policy toward a flexible, long-term resilience agenda that delegates decision-making power to the communities. Key recommendations include adopting an intersectional approach to prioritize the most vulnerable, promoting coordination between different levels of government, and actively incorporating women and youth in leadership roles to ensure innovation and sustainability.

APA

Transforma (2023). Recuperación resiliente de comunidades indígenas rurales frente a la crisis. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/recuperacion-resiliente-de-comunidades-indigenas-rurales-frente-a-la-crisis.pdf

Chicago

Transforma. Recuperación resiliente de comunidades indígenas rurales frente a la crisis. 2023. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/recuperacion-resiliente-de-comunidades-indigenas-rurales-frente-a-la-crisis.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Transforma |title=Recuperación resiliente de comunidades indígenas rurales frente a la crisis |date=2023 |url=https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/recuperacion-resiliente-de-comunidades-indigenas-rurales-frente-a-la-crisis.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{transforma2023recuperacin, author = {{Transforma}}, title = {{Recuperación resiliente de comunidades indígenas rurales frente a la crisis}}, institution = {Transforma}, year = {2023}, url = {https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/recuperacion-resiliente-de-comunidades-indigenas-rurales-frente-a-la-crisis.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }