The subject of this thesis is the "San Andres Agreements on Indigenous Rights and Culture". Born out of a process of negotiation between the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), the Mexican government and various representatives of civil society, these agreements reflect and attempt to incorporate in the constitution, for the first time in Mexican history, individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples. Through ethnography and discourse analysis, the thesis addresses the political, economic and ideological issues underlying the exchanges between the various parties to the negotiations. It presumes a dominant government discourse and a marginal discourse advanced by the zapatista party in an effort to change the fundamental tenets of Mexican politics. The debate generated by the San Andres agreements is highlighted in order to examine its repercussions and the role it has played in bringing current indigenous claims to public attention.

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