The conversation gets more and more interesting.
First, sorry for misplacing Mexico. You're absolutely right. Actually I wanted to just write "Latin America", but ended with a fancier but wrong term. Note taken.
Regarding the rest, I admit I'm a bit puzzled. I don't get the references to actual political and social situation of the country. I, honestly, don't care about it at all in this context. I'm neither trying to make an essay on real world contemporary Mexico nor writing a modern Narcos RPG setting. What I was interested in im my thought exercisa was just a pre colombian Aztec (ish) backdrop.
This has to be taken loosely. I don't wnat, or care, or even think I'm able to be remotely precise. Let's like it to the Reggia of Caserta that was the model for the palace of Naboo. It's Italian architecture put on an alien word. I still don't see anything offensive. The most outrageus thing here would be Jar-Jar Binks putting his foot in it, but that's another story...
I read the tvtropes articles, thanks for the links.
I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I didn't see that much offensive material there. Trite, oversimplified, boring or unimaginative, sure. But "plain offensive"? I fail to get it. Maybe because in my mind Aztec, Maya and Inca are dead empires? Could be. The pre Colombian empires have disappeared so long ago that I can't relate to them as "real" just as I do with medieval Europe. It's a thing of the past. Surely most of the tropes there are wildly historically inaccurate, but there's a hint of truth in there. Human sacrifices were practiced, even if not that much as pulp fiction wants us to believe, and designing a mythology around Quetzalcoatl wrong? is it an issue? Are there living worshippers of the Aztec pantheon? Is it worse than the Norse Gods depiction in Marvel comics?
On top of that, I never stated that I wanted to take the "full package" of easy pre Colombian stereotypes widely used in literature. Some mythology? Maybe. Lizardfolk inhabitant? That's a bit too called out even for me. Tabaxi maybe? Depends on how much forest I want to put there, but humans or elves would fit the same. I haven't really thought about that. I also never stated nor intended that I would make it the "evil empire" of my setting. So it's not automatic that I get the human sacrifice part.
Have you read the "Ancient Grome" trope, while we're there? I'm absolutely guilty of that, by the way. Many times. The fact is that usually I need one ancient place in my game, so, why not making it mine by cherry picking the things i like from history? I could do the same with Maya/Inca/Aztec/Egypt if I wanted to, I candidly admit that.
Should I be angry of all the people using rome as the place where mad evil emperors send people to die in bloody gladiatorial combat? Many people do it and I will maybe do it if I needed the Roman like empire be the evil one in the setting.
Should I be offended at people mixing my ancestors with Greek? I know that Erakles is the correct greek name of Hercules since I was 6, but I still could enjoy the Disney movie. It's a fantasy rendition of an ancient tale. should we get angry at Westeros being a mongrel europe? At Arendelle being a generic Scandinavian setting? At Fransokyo beyng a mish mash of America and Japan? Should I get angry of all the faux Latin in Harry Potter?
These are the things that startle me. I see people that just seem to WANT to get angry for the slightest thing. Sure, our REAL world give many reasons to get angry, and racism is one of the worst. But I prefer when angriness is directed at real world issues, not fantasy literature, if there's no direct intent of offense.
