Summary
On July 30, 2023, a new bill was submitted to the Mexican Parliament to add an article to Mexico’s Federal Penal Code to criminalize ecocide. The bill considers ecocide “any unlawful or wanton act committed with the knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment” – drawing from the legal definition of ecocide formulated by experts convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation in 2021. If passed, the bill would impose a sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison and a fine of 1,000 to 1,500 pesos per day for anyone who commits ecocide. The bill has been passed to the Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Committees for consultation.
Mexico joins the EU, Brazil, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain (Catalunya), and Belgium in having ecocide bills at various stages of proposal.
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-proposed-amendment-to-penal-code-criminalizing-ecocide/.
When using our data, please follow the FAIR and CARE Principles for data governance outlined in our Ethics Statement. We are doing our best to be correct in the information we provide, but if you notice any omission or inaccuracy, please report this to us immediately at info@ecojurisprudence.org so we can correct it.
Eco Jurisprudence Tracker is licensed under CC BY 4.0
