Racismo en la academia mexicana contra mujeres indígenas y afros altamente escolarizadas

This article problematizes situations of mistreatment and racism directed at highly educated Indigenous and Afro-descendant women. It begins by examining how access to higher and postgraduate education for Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities has developed in parallel with processes of criminalization affecting these groups. Subsequently, the article draws on a body of literature that documents the entry of Indigenous and Afro-descendant individuals into higher education. Through a critical perspective on mestizaje in Mexico and on whiteness as an institutional practice embedded within racial formation projects, the analysis examines institutional practices through cases of racism in research centers and postgraduate programs across different Mexican states. These cases reveal how racism based on skin color, linguistic racism, and epistemic racism operate. Finally, the article concludes by addressing the following questions: What does it mean to close the doors of academia to highly educated Indigenous and Afro-descendant women? And how does this compel a rethinking of the logics of privilege and whiteness in Mexico?