For the first time since 1917, the Pleno of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) will hold a session outside Mexico City, in Tenejapa, Chiapas, on Thursday, February 26, 2026. The extraordinary session will focus on indigenous rights and aims to bring justice closer to marginalized communities. This initiative stems from a reform to the Session Regulations published in September 2025.
The Pleno of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) will conduct its first extraordinary session outside its Mexico City headquarters on Thursday, February 26, 2026, in the municipality of Tenejapa, Chiapas. The session is scheduled for 12:00 hours at the explanada of the Casa de la Cultura in Tenejapa.
This decision is based on a reform to the SCJN Session Regulations, published on September 4, 2025, which allows the Pleno to deliberate in the territory when social reasons justify it, upon request from ministers or citizens. The Court aims to bring constitutional justice closer to historically marginalized communities and indigenous peoples, strengthening transparency, institutional legitimacy, and effective access to justice.
Tenejapa was selected as the first stop for the itinerant Court because Chiapas hosts one of the largest indigenous populations in the country, with 12 of the 68 constitutionally recognized indigenous groups present. Additionally, nearly 70 percent of its population faces multidimensional poverty, according to Inegi and Coneval data.
The agenda features three matters related to indigenous rights. The first is the amparo in review 344/2025, filed by the tsotsil indigenous community of La Candelaria, seeking legal recognition of their self-governance. The project, led by Minister Loretta Ortiz Ahlf, argues that the local Congress omitted issuing the necessary regulatory framework for the right to free determination of peoples, as recognized in Article 2 of the Constitution.
The second item is a constitutional controversy brought by the Presidency of the Republic against the Government of Hidalgo for declaring charrería as state intangible cultural heritage in 2024. The project by Minister Sara Irene Herrerías Guerra proposes validating the state action, as the Hidalgo government had local faculties to do so.
Finally, an amparo in review from the rarámuri indigenous community of Tehuerichi in Chihuahua, handled by Minister Arístides Guerrero García. Since 2012, the community has issued birth and death certificates due to the absence of official services. The project seeks to recognize the traditional rarámuri government, validate the documents, and link public dependencies to implement intercultural policies ensuring the right to identity.
