The Baja California Sur State Congress launched a public consultation on March 24 to gather citizen input for a constitutional reform on indigenous and traditional community rights. The consultation period runs through June 8, and residents across all five BCS municipalities can submit proposals on 10 thematic areas including indigenous identity, land rights, and economic development.
10 Thematic Areas Across Five Municipalities
Legislators plan to hold town halls in La Paz, Los Cabos, Comondú, Mulegé, and Loreto to collect input from indigenous representatives, academics, and the general public. The 10 thematic axes cover indigenous rights, cultural identity, community governance, economic development, and social services, among other topics.
BCS residents living outside the state are also eligible to participate. The Congress designed the consultation so that people born in Baja California Sur but now living elsewhere in Mexico or abroad can submit written proposals during the open period.
Town Halls to Precede Final Draft
After the June 8 deadline, legislators will compile the input and draft a proposed constitutional amendment for consideration by the full Congress. The town hall sessions are meant to ensure that indigenous communities in remote parts of the peninsula, including settlements in the Sierra de la Laguna and the desert interior of Mulegé municipality, have a voice in the process.
Baja California Sur has a smaller indigenous population than many Mexican states, but the 2020 national census counted over 8,000 residents who identified as indigenous or members of traditional communities. Many belong to groups with roots in the peninsula’s pre-colonial history, while others migrated from mainland Mexico to work in agriculture and tourism.
The reform effort aligns with broader changes in Mexico’s federal constitution that expanded indigenous rights in recent years. President Claudia Sheinbaum signed a sweeping reform to Article 2 of the federal constitution in September 2024, recognizing indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples as subjects of public law with rights to self-determination and territorial autonomy. BCS is now working to bring its state constitution into compliance with that federal mandate.
The State Congress has not yet announced specific dates or locations for the municipal town halls. Legislators are expected to publish a schedule before the end of April, according to BCS Noticias.