Justice comes (with selfie included) to the Sierra Tarahumara
In an act that mixes historical vindication and political marketing, President Claudia Sheinbaum signed two decrees to return 820 hectares to the Ódami and Rarámuri peoples. Yes, you read it correctly: give back, not give away, because the land was always yours (even if the system insisted on forgetting it). The scene, with Rarámuri children in the background and speeches about “humanism”, seemed taken from a Netflix script… but with less drama and more legal papers.
Gone with the wind (and governments)
Among phrases like “Fourth Transformation” and promises of ancestral justice, Sheinbaum recalled that this plan was initiated by AMLO. Because in Mexico, even historical reparation has six-year continuity. The communities of Mesa Colorada (Ódami) and Mogótavo (Rarámuri) thus recover land where their grandparents prayed, planted crops and, probably, cursed the invaders. No minor detail: the federal government has already restored 2,998.9 hectares in the area. Something is something, even if it sounds like a drop in the desert.
“You deserve everything,” the president said, while distributing land as if they were likes on Instagram. The combo includes: 16 artisanal paths (349.83 million pesos), monthly medical brigades and nursing schools. Because nothing says “we compensate you for centuries of neglect” like a health center and fresh asphalt.
The repair budget (or how to put a price on dignity)
Here are the numbers that hurt more than a mother-in-law’s comment:
- 5,441 million pesos invested in the Justice Plan (yes, with that money you buy 1,000 Tesla, but here it is about paying off colonial debts).
- 102,000 supports from Sembrando Vida (591.8 million pesos), because even ecology is reparation.
- 3,636 homes with electrification this year, so that the 21st century reaches the mountains.
And attention to millennial detail: the Tarahumara Technological University will become Intercultural Indigenous University. Change of name and paradigm, because education must also be decolonized.
What is not seen in the official photo
While officials pose with community leaders (did someone say tokenism?), in Guadalupe and Calvo 3,000 hectares are still pending in Mala Noche (a name that sounds like a meme, but it is reality). And although it sounds nice to talk about “environmental justice”, the forests of the mountains are still waiting for the 30.4 million pesos promised for 2025. Spoiler: without trees, there is no future.
What has been said: between government selfies and checks with many zeros, something is moving in the Sierra Tarahumara. Will it be enough? The communities have been waiting 500 years… which is a couple more six-year terms.
Are you outraged or inspired by this news? Share it and join the conversation about indigenous rights. #JustTierra#SierraTarahumara
