Archaeologists Warn of INAH Collapse Amid Bureaucratic Strangulation and Labor ‘Slavery’

Mexico City — More than 80 years after its founding, Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) is facing what a group of its own archaeologists describe as a “death foretold.” On June 1, 2026, dozens of researchers issued a public statement denouncing bureaucratic paralysis, budget mismanagement, and what they call “modern slavery” for temporary workers.

The conflict escalated after six months of official silence. In November 2025, archaeologists requested working groups with INAH’s director general to address obstacles hindering research and monument conservation. Receiving no response, they decided to go public, accusing authorities of being “insensitive and incompetent.”

Bureaucratic maze

A central grievance is the Institutional Project System (SIP), a platform meant to organize scientific work but which researchers say has become a tool to “justify public spending.” The system requires seven levels of approval, resulting in delayed and reduced budgets with unattainable reporting requirements. This administrative strangulation, they argue, prevents INAH from fulfilling its legal mandate of research, conservation, dissemination, and teaching.

Precarious labor conditions

The statement also targets INAH’s hiring practices, particularly the controversial “Chapter 3000” temporary contracts. Archaeologists, anthropologists, and restorers work as service providers without social security, seniority, vacation time, or per diems, and often face delayed payments. Researchers must submit “three quotes and a bond” to compete for temporary contracts, effectively operating as commercial vendors rather than state scientists. The signatories call this “shameful modern slavery.”

Allegations of cover-ups and heritage destruction

The document demands the immediate removal of the president and members of the Archaeology Council, accusing them of exceeding their advisory role and making “authoritarian decisions that denigrate archaeological work.” More seriously, they allege the council “covers up and enables the destruction of archaeological heritage.” This echoes tensions from recent years, when archaeologists worked under extreme time pressure to clear land for infrastructure megaprojects, often warning of irreversible loss of artifacts.

Call for institutional rescue

The researchers also demand transparent budget management, accusing the institute of funneling scarce resources into administrative bureaucracy rather than research and conservation, allegedly following guidelines from the Ministry of Finance (SHCP). With deteriorating infrastructure, shrinking permanent staff, and absurd internal regulations, the archaeologists conclude their manifesto with a direct appeal to all levels of government and the public: “Prevent the announced death of this great institution.”

INAH, which daily provides the historical and scientific foundation for Mexico’s status as a global cultural power, now finds itself paradoxically fighting for its own survival and the dignity of those who unearth the nation’s greatness.