Summary
On January 11, 2017, Mexico City adopted Rights of Nature language into its new constitution. 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.
In 2016, political reforms resulted in Mexico City becoming an entity comparable to the 31 states of Mexico, strengthening its political autonomy and opening an opportunity for the creation of its first ever city constitution. The new constitution was developed through an extensive public participation process. While Mexico’s Congress gave the Mayor of Mexico City exclusive authority to draft the city’s constitution, he chose instead to establish a diverse, non-partisan, gender-balanced drafting group comprising 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.