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This thesis compares the political positioning of Canadian Metis and Mexican mestizos. The central objective is to determine how the identities of these two groups have been affected by their countries' efforts to establish national identities. The initial assumption is that nationalizing projects, by nature, incorporate some groups, while marginalizing others. The body of the paper contains two chapters, with one chapter devoted to tracing the historical development of each group. The Metis, presented in chapter two, exhibit group cohesiveness during the 1800s and, in fact, begin to consider themselves part of a separate nation as early as 1816. However, after the 1885 Rebellion, the group becomes disenfranchised by Canadian expansionists. They join the ranks of non-status Indians, whose similar plights have meant their coordination ever since. The expansion of the group's associations has been problematic since their 1982 mention in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as establishing their privileges requires their agreeing on a definition of themselves. The mestizos, on the other hand, do not demonstrate the degree of cohesiveness that the Metis do. They are primarily identified by race and status, with no common history or political figures to bind them. In the 1920s, however, the group was used by the federal government to bridge the differences between European and indigenous peoples. As a result of this effort, the mestizo has become the personification of the national ideal, for a mestizo is neither European nor Indian, but Mexican. This has served to marginalize indigenous populations, many of whom consider the "cult of mestizo" the new form of colonialism in Mexico.

The important and exemplary role that Internet technology played in enhancing the publicity campaign of the Chiapas insurgents in their struggle for political reform in Mexico, is the focus of this thesis. By examining the Internet as an alternative distribution network for Subcomandante Marcos' communiques, it can be conjectured that the technology provided him with a space through which his voice could be heard in the international political arena. It was a space both external to Mexican government control, and through which Macros disseminated a powerful discourse representing the insurgents' political goals and grievances--one contrary to that being transmitted by the state-controlled media. Internet technology, it can be argued, generated the necessary national and international public consciousness, opinion, scrutiny and support for the Chiapas insurgents, that ultimately transformed their conflict with the Mexican government from a violent war of arms, to one of peaceful negotiation and dialogue.

This is an attempt to analyze the epistolary style, a genre within a long and distinguished literary tradition, that is used as the principal narratological technique in the novel El amor que me juraste (1998) by the contemporary Mexican writer Silvia Molina. The object of this thesis is to discover how the author adapts the genre to make a certain socio-cultural contextualization that will be elaborated upon in the analysis here of the intimate discourse exchanged by the two protagonists of the novel. At all times the important role will be stressed of the "real" reader of this fictional amorous correspondence which gives every impression of authenticity. / The first chapter gives some historical background, highlighting the growing critical interest of contemporary authors in the epistolary genre. Also a bio-bibliography of Silvia Molina is given in order to emphasize the direction of her literary work as well as her professional development as a multifaceted author. / This is followed in the second chapter by an examination of epistolary writing as a specific narrative technique in El amor que me juraste in order to facilitate the refocusing, executed by the female protagonist, of how a woman might combat patriarchal ideology in contemporary Mexican society. / Finally, the third chapter centers upon the legal and conventional functioning of epistolary writing in the genre. Thereby the protagonist's search carried out here to find her cultural roots is shown to complement her elaboration of her personal identity as a modern woman in the recasting of masculine and feminine roles, and certain moral repercussions thereof, portrayed both in the text as in society. A full bibliography is also given.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.