Summary
On January 11, 2017, Mexico City (formerly the federal district) – the capital and largest city of Mexico – adopted Rights of Nature language into its new constitution. In 2016, political reforms resulted in Mexico City ceasing to be the Federal District (or Mexico D.F.) and officially became Ciudad de México (or CDMX). This meant the city became an entity comparable to the 31 states of Mexico – however, a clause in the Constitution of Mexico, prevents it from becoming an actual state within the Mexican federation, as long it remains the capital of the country. The states of Mexico are autonomous in all matters concerning their internal affairs, and each state has its own congress and constitution. This change allowed Mexico City a greater degree of autonomy and the ability to create of its first-ever city Constitution.
With the drafting of its first Constitution, Mexico City had an opportunity to explore innovative ways of crowd-sourcing this historic document. The new Constitution was developed through an extensive public participation process. The Mayor of Mexico City chose to establish a diverse, non-partisan, gender-balanced drafting group of 28 citizen representatives recognized for their various academic, political, cultural and social roles across the city, tasked with devising a constitutional drafting process and preparing a first draft.
The new Constitution asserts that “the right to the preservation and protection of nature will be guaranteed by the authorities of Mexico City” and requires that “a secondary law shall be issued to recognize and regulate the broader protection of the rights of nature formed by all its ecosystems and species as a collective entity subject to rights.” The effect will be that citizens of Mexico City will be able to enforce fundamental rights on behalf of nature. The Constitution also provides the recognition of ontological relations of communities vis-à-vis nature.
Related Initiatives
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/mexico-city-constitutional-amendment/.
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