The judicialization of the right to self-determination of the native peoples of Mexico: the municipal election under internal regulatory systems in Oxchuc, Chiapas

Abstract

The right to self-determination in political matters of the native peoples of Mexico, even when recognized in Article 2 of the Constitución Política de Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (Political Constitution of the United Mexican States) (2020), must be judicialized for its exercise. In the constitutional law of the federal entities of Mexico, even if collective rights are recognized, there are no constitutionally developed laws that refer to the due procedures, in the case that the Asamblea Comunitaria (Communal Assembly) of a municipality with an indigenous majority decides to elect their municipal authorities in accordance with their own regulatory systems. This procedural gap in the Mexican electoral system impacts the exercise of the collective right that the native peoples have of deciding their destiny regarding municipal electoral matters while respecting constitutional rules. To demonstrate the aforementioned, an analysis is made of the political and legal context of the indigenous municipality of Oxchuc-Chiapas, which caused the judicialization of the mentioned collective right and ended with the holding of elections under its own regulatory systems on April 21, 2019.