Mexico Bill Requires Indigenous Consent for Major Projects
A proposed federal law would require free, prior, and informed consent from Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities for a wide range of development projects, imposing significant new costs and obligations on companies.
Mexico’s executive branch has published a draft General Law on the Rights of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples, initiating a formal consultation process. The proposed law would establish a nationwide procedure for obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of these communities for any legislative or administrative measure that may affect them, including the authorization of mining, energy, infrastructure, and natural-resource projects.
Sophisticated counsel should note that projects with “significant impacts” could not proceed without obtaining community consent. The proposal obligates project proponents to bear the full costs of the consultation process, conduct human rights due diligence, and negotiate binding benefit-sharing agreements. It also introduces new forms of corporate and criminal liability, including offenses like ethnocide and the theft of cultural heritage, with provisions that could allow piercing the corporate veil. The bill is in a regional consultation phase through September 2026, after which a revised version will be sent to the Mexican Congress. Companies with current or planned projects should begin assessing potential impacts and reviewing their community engagement strategies.