Baja California Congresswoman Evelyn Sánchez is promoting Mexico’s proposed General Law on Indigenous and Afro-Mexican People, legislation that would recognize Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities as public legal entities with constitutional rights.
Sánchez, who represents Tijuana’s 11th District and is a member of an Indigenous community, said her advocacy began more than a decade ago while attending CUT University. She became involved with the Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations, which works with Indigenous communities in cities including Tijuana, San Diego, Los Angeles and New York.
A constitutional shift
According to Sánchez, previous attempts to pass similar legislation repeatedly stalled because lawmakers lacked enough votes in Mexico’s Congress.
She believes the current political landscape now makes it possible to approve reforms that would move Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities from being treated as beneficiaries of government programs to being formally recognized as public legal entities with constitutional rights.
Without that recognition, she said, many policies affecting Indigenous communities depend largely on the priorities of whichever state or local administration is in office.
Communities shape the proposal
Sánchez said the legislation is being developed through a process of free, prior and informed consultation with Indigenous communities.
During the first phase, community representatives met in simultaneous working sessions to discuss and submit proposals. Those recommendations are later reviewed during a plenary session, where participants decide which measures will become part of the final legislative package.
Once approved by traditional authorities, the proposal is forwarded to Mexico’s Federal Executive Legal Counsel’s Office, where it is prepared for the legislative process using recommendations gathered by the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI).
Sánchez noted that Baja California previously used the same consultation model to approve constitutional reforms involving Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities.
Justice remains a challenge
While describing the proposal as a significant step forward, Sánchez acknowledged that many longstanding issues remain unresolved.
She pointed to the Justice Plan for the Yuman Peoples, which seeks to improve access to land, electricity and water for Indigenous communities native to Baja California.
She also said migrant Indigenous communities (including Triqui, Mixtec and Zapotec residents who have settled in the state) continue to face barriers when seeking government services because many public institutions lack interpreters and translators.
According to Sánchez, Indigenous communities also continue to call for better training and greater cultural awareness among public authorities, prosecutors and judges.
What the bill would do
If approved, the proposed General Law on Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples would recognize Mexico’s 69 Indigenous peoples and the country’s Afro-Mexican community as public legal entities with legal personality and their own assets.
The proposal is intended to strengthen their right to self-determination, autonomy and participation in public life while extending constitutional protections to approximately 25.8 million people living in more than 16,700 Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities across Mexico.
