Supreme Court ruling lets Indigenous communities speak in constitutional trials for the first time

Supreme Court ruling lets Indigenous communities speak in constitutional trials for the first time

For the first time, Mexico’s Supreme Court (SCJN) has opened a formal avenue for Indigenous peoples, communities, and Afro-Mexican communities to participate in constitutional disputes (known as controversias constitucionales) as interested third parties — a role that had previously been limited to only government bodies. “Today is a historic day,” Chief Justice Hugo Aguilar Ortiz, who is of Mixtec Indigenous origin, said during the Tuesday ruli…