Mexico

Demographics

• Total Population: 118,395,054 (according to CONAPO, 2013)

• Life expectancy (years): 73.84 men, 79.83 women

• Ethnicity: 60% mestizo (“mixed”), 30% amerindian, 9% european, 1% other

• Languages: Spanish (Official) plus 66 Amerindian languages (which have equal standing)

• Literacy Rate: 89.6%

• Religion: 89.7% Catholic, 4.9% Protestant, 0.1% Jewish, 2.1% other, 3.2% no religion

Learn more about Mexico

Mexico

“The United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos), or simply Mexico (Spanish: México), is a country located in North America, bounded on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the North Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. The “United Mexican States conform a constitutional republican federation of thirty-one states and a federal district, Mexico City, one of the most populous cities on Earth. Covering almost 2 million square kilometers, Mexico is the 5th largest country in the Americas by total area and 15th largest in the world. With a population of about 118 million, it is the 11th most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world.

Language

Spanish

Spanish is the official language of Mexico and is spoken by 99% of its population.

For more information about Spanish in general see the "Standard" Latin American Spanish page.

For information on how the dialect of Spanish differs from the “Standard", see the Mexican Spanish page.

Indigenous Languages

There are 66 indigenous Amerindian languages that are recognized by the government. Almost six million Mexicans speak an indigenous languages; most (but not all) of whom also speak Spanish. Many people mistakenly call these languages “dialects,” but its important for the SLP to know that they are totally unrelated to Spanish and were being spoken prior to the arrival of Cortes. The most commonly spoken languages are Nahuatl (the Aztec language) and Mayan, both spoken by more than 1.5 million speakers each. Less common, but growing in the United States, is the Mixtec language with a total population of .5 million.

For more detailed information about the features of the indigenous languages, see Summer Institute of Linguistic's Mexico - PAGE NOT FOUND

Mexican Americans

“Mexican-Americans are a subset of the Hispanic, or Latino group. Mexican-Americans may be recent immigrants or the sons and daughters of immigrants, descendants of those who came to the U.S. decades ago or who settled there when the land was either an independent republic or under Spanish or Mexican rule. Mexican-Americans can either be bilingual or monolingual (or, indeed, multilingual), their primary languages being English and Spanish, harking back to the Spanish colonizing efforts starting in the 1570s.

Many Mexican-Americans have struggled with defining their community's identity: some student groups flirted with nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s and differences over the proper name for members of the community — Chicano/Chicana, Latino/Latina, Mexican-Americans, Hispanics or simply La Raza became tied up with deeper disagreements over whether to integrate into or remain separate from Anglo society, as well as divisions between those Mexican-Americans whose families had lived in the United States for two or more generations and more recent immigrants.”

Recent Immigrants

Most immigrants to the United States come from Mexico. Therefore, it is not surprising that thirty seven percent of all foreign-born students in US schools were born in Mexico. However, as with most children of immigrants, most Mexican American children in US schools were born in the United States, and therefore are citizens. It is estimated that only about 1.5 percent of total (including other countries of origin) school children in the US are undocumented. The older a child is, the more likely it is that s/he is foreign born and undocumented. It is important for parents to know that legally, all school age children are eligible to go to school, and that it is illegal for a school to inquire about a child or parent’s legal status.

Although the vast majority of school children are citizens, the Urban Institute estimates that over a quarter of all immigrants living in the US are undocumented. These figures are not broken down by country, but it is likely that a similar or higher percentage of immigrants from Mexico are undocumented.

Thus, the SLP should keep in mind that parents of Mexican American children may be wary of receiving extra services for their child, because they may fear that accepting services might jeopardize their legal status or that of their child. Therefore, it might be helpful to explain to them that such services are free for all school children, regardless of their legal status or that of their children.

Sixty eight percent of children of immigrants from Mexico are considered low-income. However, it is important for the SLP to not assume that their Mexican American client’s family is low income, since thirty-four percent come from non-low income families. Forty three percent of those children are considered to be “Limited English Proficient,” according to the 2000 census. Therefore, SLPs should be familiar with bilingual language acquisition and with best practices for working with English Language learners.

Immigrants in Oregon

In recent years, Mexican immigrants have been moving to areas not traditionally known for having a large population, including the Southeast, Central States and the Pacific Northwest. Oregon has seen its overall hispanic population increase from 3% in 1990 to 9% in 2004. In the author's five years working with Mexican immigrants in Oregon, he has found that some families have moved north from CA to find less crowded cities or more job opportunities. Others have come straight from Mexico, perhaps invited by friends or relatives in Oregon. Many have come expecting to find seasonal work in agriculture or nurseries. Once families have school age children, they may look for more year round work so the children can stay in the same school.

However, the SLP should know that family members (including your client) may plan trips back to Mexico during winter or summer break, and (less frequently) during the school year. You should be ready to explain the possible ramifications that an extended absence from school may have on the child's education and services. The family may not have a choice (there may be a family emergency) but in my experience, parents have modified their plans when possible.

Where in Mexico do Oregon's immigrants come from?

Oregon’s Hispanic population has risen from 8% in 2000 to 12.2 % in 2013, from which 6.3% are Mexicans, as reported in the 2013 census from the United States Census Bureau. It is notable that, as a whole, minority groups in Oregon are growing at a faster pace than the corresponding rates at a national level, thereby accelerating the diversity of Oregon’s population. However, the state still remains one of the least diverse in the country in terms of race and ethnicity. The majority of the Hispanic population in Oregon are first generation immigrants and are associated with large family size. Consequently, an overwhelming proportion are children and young adults.

The origins of Mexican immigrants have also changed over the past decade with more Mexicans coming from Mexico's less prosperous south and southeast compared to the traditional sending zones in Mexico's center-west region. Neither the US nor Mexican governments have precise information about the regional areas immigrants from Mexico are from. However, the Mexican consulate in Portland does issue “Consular ID cards,” to Mexican citizens who bring their birth certificate to the consulate in Portland. At the Mexican consulate in Portland, most of those who apply for those cards come from the three states of Michoacán (23%), Oaxaca (12%), and Jalisco (11%). Given the great cultural diversity within Mexico, it is important for the SLP to know the regional characteristics, languages spoken in the area, dialectical differences, traditions and cultural values in order to better understand the clients' language and communication needs and to develop better and stronger partnerships with families. The following section will expand on the social and regional characteristics of the three States where most of the immigrants to Oregon come from.

Culture of Mexico

Mexican Values according to Hofstede’s Value dimensions:

Power Distance

Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Mexican society is highly stratified, with wide disparities in wealth, social status, and educational levels exist across different sections of Mexican society and across the country’s many regions, which contributes to highly marked classicism (discrimination based on socioeconomic class). Mexicans may have a conscious or unconscious belief that people are not equal and that everybody has a rightful place. This means that people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and no further justification is necessary.

Individualism vs. Collectivism

Individualism is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people´s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “We”. Mexico is considered a collectivist society. This is manifested in a close long-term commitment to the member 'group', be that a family, extended family, or extended relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount, and over-rides most other societal rules and regulations. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group. These values are also present in Mexican American society. In collectivist societies, offense leads to shame and loss of face, employer/employee relationships are perceived in moral terms (like a family link), hiring and promotion decisions take account of the employee’s in-group, and management is the management of groups.

Masculinity vs. Femininity (or Career Success vs. Quality of Life)

Masculinity value is the extent to which the dominant values are male-oriented, meaning assertiveness, ambition and competition to achieve material success and respect. On the contrary, femininity values nurturing behaviors, fosters gender equality, and puts people and the environment first before material success. Mexico is a masculine society. Gender roles are highly defined with males dominating a significant portion of the society and power structure.

Uncertainty Avoidance

The dimension of Uncertainty Avoidance is the extent to which people within a culture are made nervous by situations they perceive as unstructured, unclear or unpredictable. This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in different ways. Mexico has high uncertainty avoidance. Countries exhibiting high uncertainty avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and behavior and are intolerant of unorthodox behavior and ideas. In these cultures there is an emotional need for rules (even if the rules never seem to work) and innovation may be resisted. Negotiations are more likely to move at a more “secure” slower pace, with a greater amount of detail and planning.

Pragmatism

This dimension describes how people in the past as well as today relate to the fact that so much that happens around us cannot be explained. In societies with a normative orientation, most people have a strong desire to explain as much as possible. In societies with a pragmatic orientation most people don’t have a need to explain everything, as they believe that it is impossible to understand fully the complexity of life. The challenge is not to know the truth but to live a virtuous life. The Mexican culture is normative. People in such societies have a strong concern with establishing the absolute Truth; they are normative in their thinking. They exhibit great respect for traditions, a relatively small propensity to save for the future, and a focus on achieving quick results

Indulgence

This dimension is defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised. Relatively weak control is called “indulgence” and relatively strong control is called “restraint”. Cultures can, therefore, be described as indulgent or restrained. Mexican culture has a definite tendency toward indulgence. People in societies classified by a high score in indulgence generally exhibit a willingness to realize their impulses and desires with regard to enjoying life and having fun. They possess a positive attitude and have a tendency towards optimism. In addition, they place a higher degree of importance on leisure time, act as they please and spend money as they wish.

Mexican American Mother's Beliefs about Education, Language Impairment and Related Topics

A recent cross cultural study by Rodriguez and Olswang compared low SES Mexican American and low SES Anglo American mothers’ attitudes about education and related topics. Before discussing the implications of their findings, it is important to make clear that within any group there is bound to be individual variation. In addition, when characterizing the beliefs of immigrants in the United States, one must keep in mind the effects of acculturation. As an immigrant spends time in this country, s/he may adopt some of the cultural beliefs of the mainstream culture. Thus, the results of studies such as this are useful to the SLP insofar as they provide a point of departure when working with families. However, the clinician must use his/her judgment in order to ascertain which generalities fit the particular family and to what extent.

The results of the study’s surveys and interviews showed that the Mexican American mothers were more likely to hold “Traditional, Authoritarian” beliefs regarding child rearing than the Anglo American mothers. The Mexican American parents were more likely to see child rearing rather than formal education as their domain. On the other hand, they also believed that what parents teach their children at home can have an effect on how successful they are at school. Thus, when planning to work with Mexican American mothers, it's important to look at parental participation as something broader than purely academic involvement. It may be better to start with involvement more related to every day routines, while at the same time stressing how this will help the child at school. Once the parent is engaged in working with the clinician, it may be possible to discuss involvement in more academic areas. The Mexican American mothers valued conformity much more highly than their Anglo American counterparts, while the Anglo Americans valued self-direction more highly. The Mexican American mothers felt it was most important that children learned to obey parents and teachers, and to be polite to adults. Therefore an SLP who is working collaboratively with parents to set goals in the area of pragmatics might choose to work first on appropriate turn-taking rather than initiation of conversation.

A second significant finding was that as the mothers become more acculturated, the strength of their “Traditional, Authoritarian” beliefs were reduced. However, they still scored higher on these measures as a group than the Anglo mothers. They continued to value conformity at a similar level to the less acculturated group. Thus, it might be helpful for SLPs to get an idea of how long the family has been in the United States. However, if the question does not come up in the interview, the SLP will need to weigh their need to know that information against the possibility that questions about immigration might make the family uncomfortable.

The third finding was that low SES Mexican American and low SES Anglo American mothers’ beliefs differed with regard to the cause of their child’s language impairments. Since this was done by including only ten mothers from each group in semi-structured interviews, the results should be taken with caution. They found that eight of the ten Mexican American mothers attributed the causes to extrinsic factors, such as home environment, God’s will, or home-school language mismatches. On the other hand, six of the ten Anglo American mothers attributed the cause to intrinsic factors, such as family history, personality or genetics. A parent’s beliefs regarding the cause of his/her child’s impairment may affect how helpful s/he thinks therapy will be, and knowledge of their beliefs may help to determine the best therapy approach.

Attitudes towards AAC

In Huer, Parette & Sanchez,1998, Mexican American Families participated in focus groups to provide insights into their attitudes and beliefs towards Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC). Some keys points from the article are:

1. Given their “high context” communication style, families placed a higher value on non-verbal communication abilities of their children (implied cultural context is more important than explicit messages).

2. Speech or sign language was preferred over AAC devices in the home environment.

3. Children are included and expected to participate in household tasks and chores. AAC devices should include messages that make this type of participation possible.

Education

“Education in Mexico is centralized with curriculum decisions being made at the federal level through the Secretariat of Public Education (Spanish: Secretaría de Educación Pública or SEP). Educational standards are set by this Ministry at all levels except in autonomous universities chartered by the government (e.g. UNAM). Accreditation of private schools is accomplished by a mandatory approval and registration with this institution.

Today, Mexico has nearly reached its goal of providing facilities for all school-age children. Yet, despite historical advancements and heroic efforts by educators, Mexico continues to struggle with “rezago", or educational failure. Millions of students are retained or drop out after primary school and secondary school. Rural communities, especially those of Indigenous people where millions of citizens speak Spanish as a second language, have high rates of poverty. In these settings, many children drop out of school to work and support their families, which contributes to a higher rate of illiteracy.”

Some immigrants from Mexico have had little education and may be illiterate. Therefore it's important for the SLP to be sensitive to this fact with regard to IFSPs, IEPs, forms, “homework” or letters home. On the other hand, don't assume that your client's parents are poorly educated just because they come from Mexico. They may have graduated from high school and attended post secondary education.

Grade Level and Age

School grade level, Grade, Age (Years Old)

• Pre-School, Nursery School, 3-4

• Kindergarten, 5–6; beginning of “basic” education (educación básica)

• Primaria (Primary School)

  • 1st Grade, 6–7

  • 2nd Grade, 7–8

  • 3rd Grade, 8–9

  • 4th Grade, 9–10

  • 5th Grade, 10–11

  • 6th Grade, 11–12

• Secundaria (Secondary School)

  • First grade, 12–13

  • Second grade, 13–14

  • Third grade, 14–15

• Bachillerato or Preparatoria (High School)

  • First grade, 15–16; beginning of “middle higher” education (educación media superior)

  • Second grade, 16–17

  • Third grade, 17–18

• University; beginning of “higher” education (educación superior)

  • Four or five years leading to a Bachelor's degree (licenciatura)

• Postgraduate

  • Two to three years leading to a Master's Degree (maestría)

  • Three or more years after the completion of a Master's degree, leading to a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D., known locally as doctorado)

Special Education

Mexico has had national schools for the Deaf and for the Blind for more than 125 years. It founded its first program for training special educators in 1935. Today, Mexican law provides for the provision of Special Education for children from birth to age twenty. This includes, among other things, speech and language impairments, learning disabilities and autism. The type of services received by children requiring special education varies depending on the state they live in and whether they live in the city or the country. Therefore, a child may receive services in their regular elementary school, in a special center in addition to their school, or in a separate school or educational center. Parents of children 0-5 with developmental delays or multiple impairments who receive services must be involved in the services for their children.

Students with learning disabilities either remain in regular schools and receive assistance or are placed in a special institution if their needs are significantly demanding. The process of identifying needs and providing services is coordinated by teams of professionals called Regular Education Support Services Units, Unidades de Servicios de Apoyo a la Educación Regular (USAER). The Regular Education Support Services Units usually consists of a team that includes a social worker, psychologist, speech and language therapist, and a special education teacher. They serve four or five schools, spending one day per week in each.

The USAER members conduct studies of the school operations and environment, and of the community the school serves. They work with the School Technical Consultative Council (Consejo Técnico Consultivo Escolar), school staff, and parents to explain the special education program. Although teachers most frequently refer students, the members of the USAER visit classrooms and may initiate the referral process based on their observations.

As stated in the 2011-2012 annual report, there are a total of 5,522 USAER centers throughout the country, serving a total of 501,387 students with learning disabilities, special needs, and children with intellectual giftedness.

See full report at Secretaría de Educación Pública - link doesn't work

Incidence of congenital abnormalities in indigenous populations

Recent studies have looked at the high incidence of cleft palate among indigenous populations. Studies have shown that Nahuan, Otomi, Matlazinca and Mazahuan could have genetic susceptibility due to its complex mixture, in addition to environmental factors. Some environmental factors are:

1. Antibiotics and many medications in Mexico are available without medical prescription, thus increasing the prevalence of self-medication and risk of exposure to harmful substances during pregnancy.

2. Seasonality of cleft palate incidence in relation to sowing, fumigation or harvest periods could be possible, as women often work during these periods.

3. A high number of files reported relatives with non-syndromic oral cleft congenital anomalies. These relatives live in districts with indigenous inhabitants that rely economically on pottery and agriculture. In addition, they live in industrial areas with hazardous waste from plastic and electronic manufacturing. These environmental factors have been associated with oral cleft development.

4. Lack of information about nutrition and health care during pregnancy.

5. Limited healthcare access.

Life in Schools

“The sense of time and pacing can differ greatly from U.S. schools, where time is tightly scheduled and recreational activity is closely monitored. In Mexico, children are in school for 4 hours a day, and some urban students work in the morning and attend school in the late afternoon.

Classroom life tends to be more informal than in U.S. schools. In many schools, students engage in frequent group work, often involving a great deal of student interaction and movement. At the same time, Mexican students are expected to show respect to the “maestro/a” (the teacher). Parents usually assume that teachers will make the best decisions for their children, and it is not the norm for parents to intervene in school matters unless asked.

Practical note. Be aware that Mexican immigrant children are not accustomed to the long hours, the decreased time for social interaction, and the more rule-driven culture of most U.S. schools.

There can be a vast difference between the educational experiences of urban and rural children. Even as the population of Mexico becomes more urban, the number of small communities increases. These communities are isolated and economically poor, and they have many daunting educational problems: the difficulty of finding teachers willing to travel long distances to teach there, students' inability to attend school due to impassable roads or family responsibilities, and the need for children to work. Rural students may have to leave their communities after elementary school to attend school in a nearby town, and some families cannot afford to pay for travel, textbooks, uniforms, and other school costs after sixth grade. The same is true of poor urban students, although they have more school choices where they live.

Practical note. Despite these problems, rural students should not be viewed as deprived. A lack of computers, telephones, and even electricity does not equate with a lack of culture.

Also, urban youth and some rural youth have access to Internet cafes, which are booming, especially in the cities. Although most rural schools do not have computers, it would be a mistake to assume that Mexican students are technologically illiterate.”

Implications for the SLP

Therapy Considerations for Bilingual Spanish-English Children:

• A SLP who is working with a child who was born in Mexico should keep in mind that s/he may have received services while living there. In addition, it is also important to consider the fact that parents may have had a history of involvement in special education (or at least be familiar with the existence of such programs.) On the other hand, since the majority of Mexican children historically have not received services.

• SLPs should make sure to ask if there are any other languages spoken in the home (in addition to English and Spanish). Its possible that your client's native language is not Spanish, but an indigenous language. There may be family members in the home (often grandparents) who may not speak Spanish, so the family may feel its very important for the child to retain his/her native language.

For more detailed information on working with Spanish/English bilingual speakers, see Goldstein, B. (1995). Spanish phonological development. In H. Kayser (Ed), Bilingual speech and language pathology: an Hispanic focus (pp. 17-39). San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing.

"Usted" or "tú"?

The Spanish word "usted" is the formal application of the English pronoun “ you”. The use of this term implies “respect” in a power distance relationship. In other words, “respect” is implied by fostering a formal communication climate. “Usted” is used to address people who are not perceived to have close relational ties. That is, Mexicans most often use this form of address with people who they are not familiar with, or with whom they do not have equal status. The “usted” form is normally used to address the elders, authorities and organizational superior-subordinate relationships. Examples of these relationships include those of parent-child, teacher-student and coach-player. Like the “tú” form, “usted” also reinforces a contextual boundary to a relationship. “Usted” may be used to increase power distance by imposing an implicit formal communication environment. This formal environment impedes the development of an intimate relationship.

In Mexico, as relationships become more intimate, the form of address changes. This often occurs over time where people who were once referred to as "usted" will later be referred as "tú". A change in address indicates a change in status for the relational partners. Partners negotiate the change by asking “¿Puedo hablarle de tú?". In some cases, the change from the formal “usted” to the informal “tú” can indicate defiance. In such a relationship, respect is lost.