Digital Inclusion, Educational Inequality, and Indigenous Identity in Peru: A Quantitative Assessment of Structural Heterogeneity

Abstract

This study examines the configuration of the emerging subject in contemporary Peru by analyzing the relationship between pluricultural identities and structural inequalities in education, gender, and digital inclusion. A quantitative research design with descriptive, comparative, and correlational components was employed, using regression models to assess the influence of socioeconomic factors on social mobility. The analysis was based on secondary data obtained from the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) and the National Household Survey (ENAHO). The findings reveal that approximately 9.7 million Peruvians self-identify as members of Indigenous peoples, highlighting the persistence of ethnic diversity despite longstanding assumptions of national cultural homogenization. The results also identify a process of urban re-ethnization, reflected in the increase of Quechua speakers (13.9%) and the substantial expansion of internet access among Indigenous households, which reached 42.8% in 2023. Nevertheless, significant structural inequalities remain: only 14.2% of Indigenous women attain higher education compared with 35.7% of mestizo women, while the digital divide persists at 19.6 percentage points. Regression analyses indicate that although urbanization and digital connectivity create new opportunities for identity construction and social participation, social mobility continues to be constrained by enduring structural heterogeneity that limits individual and collective agency. The study's principal theoretical contribution is the proposal of the Transversal Emerging Subject, a conceptual framework that explains how Indigenous identities are reconfigured within contemporary global and digital contexts, providing new insights for the design of intercultural public policies grounded in the capabilities approach.