Mexican Climate Activists’ Ambitions Are Crumbling

Mexican Climate Activists’ Ambitions Are Crumbling

President Claudia Sheinbaum has eroded a key legal tool used to ensure environmental justice.

Sheinbaum sits next to Gutiérrez at a desk in front of a wood-paneled wall. Between them and the wall is a Mexican flag. Both wear business formal attire and serious expressions on their faces. December 8, 2025, 10:19 AM

In the summer of 2020, representatives from Indigenous Maya communities on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula filed an amparo with Mexico’s Supreme Court. An amparo is a legal tool that exists in some Spanish-speaking countries; literally meaning “protection,” it allows citizens to suspend or halt a state-initiated law or project if a judge finds it unconstitutional. Similar to an injunction or habeas corpus, amparos are a way for