Summary
On December 8, 2020 a bill for the “Defense and Recognition of the Rights of Rivers and Other Water Sources of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico” was presented to the Congress of the State of Oaxaca (Mexico). The bill seeks to establish all the rivers and other water sources in the state of Oaxaca as subjects with rights, including fundamental rights to exist, thrive and evolve, and is a response to the water crisis in the region. The bill would also create the “Institute for the Defense of the Rights of Rivers and Other Water Sources” to represent Water Sources through Guardians that would ensure respect for their rights, interests, health and welfare (Litigio Estratégico Indígena A.C.).
On June 27, 2022 Carlos Morales Sánchez (Litigio Estratégico Indígena A.C.) filed a lawsuit in the District Court of the State of Oaxaca, over the failure of the Congress of the State of Oaxaca to follow up on the legislative process initiated with the presentation of the bill in 2020, and that the 30 day review period had been violated. On September 30, 2022, the court ruled that the Commission of Water and Sanitation had thirty days following their ruling to present their draft opinion on the bill to the congress of the State of Oaxaca, and that legislative process on the bill must be fulfilled (District Court of the State of Oaxaca ruling 2022, 16).
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/oaxaca-mexico-bill-recognizing-the-rights-of-rivers-and-other-water-sources/.
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