Mexico launches national consultation for Indigenous rights law

Indigenous rights law National consultation Afromexican rights Constitutional reform Mexico legislative process

Mexico has launched a national consultation process to develop the General Law on the Rights of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples. This initiative follows a constitutional reform to Article 2, which recognizes these groups as subjects of public law with their own legal personality and assets.

The consultation, convened by President Claudia Sheinbaum, involves regional assemblies across various states, including Oaxaca, Puebla, Sonora, and Querétaro. In Oaxaca, the process includes 83 regional assemblies and seven working groups to consult 69 indigenous peoples and one Afro-Mexican community. In Puebla, dialogues are being held in municipalities such as Zacapoaxtla and Huehuetla to ensure the law respects the cultural diversity and organizational forms of local groups.

Human rights commissions in states like Chihuahua and Puebla have emphasized the need for these processes to be free, informed, and culturally appropriate. In Sonora, the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI) is working to ensure that legislative proposals are discussed article-by-article with local communities, providing materials translated into indigenous languages to facilitate participation.