The Mexican Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) ordered this Wednesday in an unpublished judgment to withdraw two mining concessions to the Canadian company Almaden Minerals in the center of the country after a complaint by the Nahua indigenous peoples of Tecoltemi, in the central state of Publa.
Los cinco ministros de la Primera Sala fallaron a favor del Comisariado Ejidal y la Comunidad Indígena Nahua de Tecoltemi porque no hubo una consulta prévia, con base en el artículo 2 de la Constitución y el Convenio 169 de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT) sobre indigenous peoples.
“This first chamber determines that it is appropriate to order the Ministry of Economy, through its general directorate of mining regulations, to leave the mining concession titles unfounded”, settled the sentence prepared by the Minister Jorge Pardo Rebolledo.
The concessions were granted in 2003 and 2009 to Minera Gorrión, a subsidiary of Almaden Minerals, which on its official website describes the Ixtaca project as a “gold and silver exploration project in the Sierra Norte de Puebla” which “could become the first modern metal mine” of this state.
The First Chamber, which left open the possibility of renewing the concession if the consultation rights are respected, has so far agreed with the inhabitants of Tecoltemi, who oppose the project for fear of running out of water.
“There is a treaty obligation for all Mexican authorities to implement the necessary mechanisms or procedures that make effective the right to prior, free and informed consultation with indigenous peoples,” the sentence warns.
The decision comes as the Mexican government, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has increasingly scrutinized foreign mining companies, especially Canadian ones, which it accuses of tax evasion and affecting communities.
Since López Obrador assumed the presidency in December 2018 with the promise not to grant any more mining concessions, the proportion of national territory granted to mining has been reduced from 10.64% to 8.59%.
However, the First Chamber refused to declare articles 6, 10, 15 and 19 of the mining law unconstitutional, as claimed by the indigenous inhabitants of Tecoltemi, because of the “domain” and the rights they grant to the nation over mining resources.
The magistrates agreed that “the plaintiff is wrong in that the contested articles are unconstitutional” with the argument “that they violate their right to dispose, use and enjoy their territory”.
“The regime established by Constitutional Section 27 over Nation-owned mineral resources is clear in establishing the exclusive authority of the Federation to enforce the terms and conditions necessary for the utilization of mineral resources,” the SCJN determined.
“Pop culture fanatic. Introvert. Devoted food trailblazer. Bacon geek. Lifelong coffee evangelist.”