Mexico City | Desinformémonos. The organization Litigio Estratégico Indígena Asociación Civil (Strategic Indigenous Litigation Civil Association) filed an appeal to compel the Congress of the Union to enact the General Law on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-Mexican Communities, in view of its failure to comply with the mandate established in Article 2 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, amended on September 30, 2024, which set a deadline of 180 days for the enactment of the law.
The constitutional reform incorporated a catalog of rights for indigenous peoples and Afro-Mexican communities, based on an initiative presented by then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and built on proposals formulated directly by the peoples and communities themselves. As a key background, in September 2021, representatives of the Yaqui people from the community of Vícam submitted a proposal for constitutional reform to the head of the federal executive branch, the result of a process of community deliberation and a historic demand for full recognition of collective rights.
Although the reform expressly established the obligation of the Congress of the Union to issue the General Law within a maximum period of 180 days, the law has not been approved. In view of this legislative omission, Litigio Estratégico Indígena Asociación Civil (Strategic Indigenous Litigation Civil Association) appealed to the Federal Judiciary to demand compliance with the constitutional obligation and that the rights recognized in the constitutional text have clear mechanisms for application and enforcement.
Mariana Yáñez Unda, vice president of Litigio Estratégico Indígena Asociación Civil, stated that “more than a year has passed and the legislators who make up the Congress of the Union have not approved the General Law, which seeks to implement the rights already recognized in Article 2 of the Constitution for indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples.” She pointed out that the law must guarantee the right to decide their forms of social, economic, political, and cultural organization; eliminate historical inequalities and structural racism; recognize identities and respect self-identification, including Afro-Mexican peoples; and protect indigenous languages and cultural heritage.
Below is the full statement:
Strategic Indigenous Litigation promotes appeal against legislative negligence in favor of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples
Mexico City.- The organization Litigio Estratégico Indígena A.C. filed an amparo lawsuit with the aim of forcing the Congress of the Union to enact the General Law on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-Mexican Communities, in view of the failure to comply with the current constitutional mandate.
On September 30, 2024, Article 2 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States was amended to include a catalog of rights for indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples. This reform was based on an initiative presented by then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and built on requests and proposals made directly by the country’s indigenous peoples and communities.
As a key precursor to this process, in September 2021, representatives of the Yaqui people from the community of Vícam submitted a proposal for a constitutional reform on the rights of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples to the head of the federal executive branch. This document was the result of a community deliberation process and expressed the historic demand for a constitutional and legal framework that would guarantee the full recognition of their collective rights.
The constitutional reform published in September 2024 expressly established that the Congress of the Union must issue the General Law on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-Mexican Communities within 180 days. However, to date, this law has not been issued.
In view of this legislative omission, Litigio Estratégico Indígena A.C. filed an appeal lawsuit with the aim of having the Federal Judiciary order Congress to comply with its constitutional obligation and move forward with the enactment of the corresponding regulatory law.
The legal action seeks to ensure that the rights recognized in the constitutional text have clear mechanisms for application and enforcement, and that the historical demands of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples are translated into effective regulations and public policies with real impact.
Mariana Yáñez Unda, vice president of Litigio Estratégico Indígena A.C., explained that more than a year has passed and the legislators who make up the Congress of the Union have not approved the General Law, which seeks to implement the rights already recognized in Article 2 of the Mexican Constitution for indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples.
The activist recalled that the General Law must guarantee their right to decide their forms of social, economic, political, and cultural organization; eliminate historical inequalities and structural racism, promoting a pluralistic and harmonious society; recognize identities and respect the self-identification of peoples and communities, including Afro-Mexicans; and promote the development and use of indigenous languages and preserve their cultural heritage, among other rights.
Original text published by Desinformémonos on January 17th, 2025.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.