jats:titleAbstract</jats:title>jats:pThe purpose of this paper is to explore the ethos ofjats:italicinterculturalidad</jats:italic>in Mexico's recently foundedjats:italicuniversidades interculturales</jats:italic>. On the basis of documentation and interviews with faculty in five universities, institutionalisation of intercultural higher education within the state sector can be seen to have created a space in which the politics of recognition meet the radical ideas of educators in the tradition of constructivism andjats:italiceducación popular</jats:italic>. Intercultural higher education does not select students on the basis of race, but the location of the campuses and the content of courses are designed to attract indigenous students. The introduction of field research early in the undergraduate course should transform the relationship between students and their communities of origin, and prepare them for leadership roles. The article concludes with a critique of what it calls ‘hard’ multiculturalism.</jats:p>