Mexican Baja California Congress Begins Drafting Indigenous and Afro‑Mexican Consultation Law

Deputies Montserrat Murillo López and Evelyn Sánchez Sánchez introduced a bill to create a Law of Prior, Free and Informed Consultation for Indigenous Peoples and Afro‑Mexican Communities in Baja California. The proposal seeks to guarantee procedural rights such as access to information, participation in decision‑making and access to justice for native groups and settled migrant populations.

The initiative was presented after the joint installation of the United Committees on Governance, Legislation and Constitutional Points and the Committee on Indigenous and Afro‑Mexican Communities, which will analyse the bill and open a channel for associations, collectives and community leaders to submit concerns and suggestions. The commission, chaired by Juan Manuel Molina García and secretariat‑led by Evely Sánchez, includes members from Morena, Movimiento Ciudadano, PAN and Fuerza por México. It aims to ensure that no legislative action proceeds without the mandatory prior consultation established by the Constitution and Supreme Court rulings.