Mexico Federal Constitutional Amendment: rights of nature

Summary

In December 2019, Congressman Max Agustín Correa Hernández (of the Morena party), who also served as president of the Environmental and Water Resources Commission of the Congress of the State of Mexico, introduced a proposal to the Local Congress for a federal reform to articles 1, 2, 3, 4, and 27 of the Constitution of the United Mexican States to include the Rights of Nature. The congressman explained that the initiative relates human rights to the rights of indigenous, peasant, and Afro-descendant peoples and establishes a new paradigm with an understanding of the dangers of anthropocentric governance in the context of anthropogenic climate change, alleviated by giving nature ‘human rights.’

Congressman Correa Hernández cited that Indigenous worldviews, such as Madre Tierra (Mother Earth), were essential to the policy’s foundation, and that the reform emphasized that environmental protection and human wellbeing are inseparable. After its introduction, the initiative received support from organizations including UNAM’s Institute of Legal Research, Earth Law Center, and Movimiento Ambiental Mexiquense.

In July 2021, after nearly two years of committee discussions and consultations, Mexico’s Congress of the Union agreed to consider the proposal and advanced it to the Senate of the Republic for evaluation. Although not yet enacted, the initiative has influenced constitutional reforms in Colima, Oaxaca, and Guerrero, which have since recognized nature as a rights-bearing entity.

Involved Organizations

Related Initiatives