The Others: Media representations of Indigenous Peoples in the coverage of environmental and political matters : A Critical Discourse-Analysis of the media coverage regarding the Mayan Train environmental protests and concerns in Mexico

Abstract: In the coverage of the Mayan Train in the Southeast of Mexico, national newspapers have either ignored Indigenous peoples as the main stakeholders affected by this project or portrayed them as victims and enemies of modernization. The purpose of this study is to analyse how the Mexican newspapers, La Jornada & Reforma, have omitted or ‘othered’ Indigenous communities in their coverage of the Mayan Train between March and June 2022. Fifteen articles from each newspaper were chosen to be analysed to show how most of them collectivize Indigenous peoples into a minority that is represented as ignorant and in need. The language used to describe Mayan pueblos in these articles reduces Indigeneity to ideas related to the past, poverty and violence, among other concepts which evidence an ideological disconnection between environmental issues and Indigenous concerns. These media omissions and language choices do not only contribute to the othering of the Mayan identity and individuality which are already threatened by this project, but to a racist and discriminatory treat against them. This thesis aims to bring up questions about the representation of Indigenous peoples in national news media articles, as well as to think about how the rebuilding of these could help influence public mindset to incorporate Indigenous communities in environmental concerns in Mexico.