The Matlatzinca of Mexico

The Matlatzinca of Mexico, numbering approximately 1,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are descendants of a pre-Hispanic Toluca Valley people conquered by the Aztecs, today surviving as a small farming community in the villages of San Francisco Oxtotilpan and San Juan Atzingo, speaking one of Mexico's most endangered Oto-Manguean languages. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Spanish is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Matlatzinca

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Mexico
People Cluster: Central American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Spanish (spa)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 1,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG039249
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Pray for the Matlatzinca of Mexico

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

97%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Spanish
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Spanish Speakers

Media Resources in Spanish:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film
JESUS View Film
Magdalena View Film
Magdalena View Film
The Savior View Film

5 films

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% or Greater but Less than 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Matlatzinca:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Matlatzinca of Mexico

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life"
readJohn 4:13-14

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will drink of the living water that only Christ can provide and never thirst again.

There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
readPsalm 19:3

Pray that God will lead them to His Word, and where it is not available, ask that He will raise up those who will produce gospel media in their heart language.

And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
readActs 16:15

Pray that God will bring entire families and households to faith in Him and raise up servant-leaders from among them.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

Matlatzinca, San Francisco Across Countries (ROP3 - 103052) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

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1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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