MEXICO CITY, November 6 (EL UNIVERSAL).- In Mexico there are 30 million Mexican men and women who do not have access to the internet, according to data from the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation of Mexico (SICT), which generates inequalities. significant, mainly in indigenous areas of Oaxaca and Chiapas and in the female population, warned the Pro Mujer organization.
The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) reported that states such as Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Yucatán are home to most of Mexico’s indigenous population and are the ones with the fewest homes with internet access at 68.9%, a 70.6%, 78.3% and 48.4% of homes without connectivity, respectively.
Marlen Martínez, doctor in Strategies for Regional Agricultural Development and Dulce Gómez, doctor in Cultural Diversity and Citizenship, pointed out that in the state of Oaxaca there are different factors that represent a barrier to digital connectivity, such as geographical dispersion, low population density , the topography (predominantly mountainous), low schooling and low income levels.
The above, they said, affects indigenous women in a differentiated way due to their historical and structural condition of inequality that they present compared to their male peers.
“In the majority of indigenous municipalities, deficiencies are observed in access to basic rights such as food, education and health, where women have higher rates of illiteracy, backwardness and school dropouts,” lamented Marlen Martínez.
For her part, Dulce Gómez explained that this socio-economic and demographic context limits indigenous women’s ability to develop or undertake activities through digital technologies, such as the purchase and sale of products and services, which allow them to have autonomy. economical.
Pro Mujer reported that the high rates of poverty and marginalization suffered by these communities, combined with the lack of access to other forms of medical care, directly influences the quality of life, prevention and health care of the residents.
Furthermore, the training of indigenous men continues to be prioritized over women, who have to take care of domestic activities and care for their children, so they have little time to learn the use of digital technologies.
Thus, the NGO implemented a hybrid training model that Pro Mujer applied in this alliance, impacting a total of 4,086 women in the southeast of the country, of which 34% claimed to have incorporated digital sales channels; 86% improved their leadership; 85% their soft skills and 48% their financial skills.
“Digital literacy is presented as a key tool to close the inequality gap in the indigenous communities of Mexico. Digital inclusion, therefore, is not only a matter of access to technology, but of empowerment and comprehensive development for communities who have been historically marginalized,” added Pro Mujer.
