Indigenous peoples of Mexico
When Mexico gained independence in 1821, the casta system was eliminated as a legal structure, but racial divides remained. 
White Mexican argued about what the solution was to the "Indian Problem", that is indigenous who continued to live in communities and were not integrated politically or socially as citizens of the new republic. The Mexican constitution of 1824 has several articles pertaining to indigenous peoples. The second article of the constitution of Mexico recognizes and enforces the right of indigenous peoples and communities to self-determination and therefore their autonomy to:
New Mexico
New Mexico received its name long before the present-day nation of Mexico won independence from Spain and adopted that name in 1821. Spanish explorers recorded this region as New Mexico ("" in Spanish) in 1563. In 1581, the Chamuscado and Rodríguez Expedition named the region north of the Rio Grande "San Felipe del Nuevo México". The Spaniards hoped to find wealthy Mexican Indian cultures there similar to those of the Aztec (Mexica) Empire of the Valley of Mexico. The indigenous cultures of New Mexico, however, proved to be unrelated to the Aztecs, and were not wealthy. Before statehood, the name "New Mexico" was applied to various configurations of the U.S. territory, to a Mexican state, and to a province of New Spain, all in the same general area, but of varying extensions.