Demex lawsuit (re lease contracts for wind farm, Mexico)
المصادر
Snapshot: On 11 June 2013, 11 landowners and representatives of the Unión Hidalgo Indigenous community in Mexico, supported by ProDESC, filed agrarian lawsuits against Demex (part of Renovalia) and its Piedra Larga wind farm project at the Unitary Agrarian Tribunal (TUA) District 22 in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca. They sought to nullify contracts with Demex, arguing these improperly treated communal lands as private property, violating the Agrarian Law. The Magistrate of District 22 TUA declared himself incompetent to hear the case, suggesting it should be handled by a civil judge. The plaintiffs then filed an indirect amparo lawsuit with the First District Court in Oaxaca. On 21 October 2016, the Court upheld the lease contracts, citing the company's "good faith" in not knowing the lands were communal. On 22 June 2017, following Unión Hidalgo community members' appeal, the Court of Appeal granted an amparo. The court ordered to recognise the lands as communal and respect the Indigenous community's customs and cultural specificities. On 5 August 2022, the Agrarian Tribunal declared the lease contracts between Unión Hidalgo community members and Demex null and void. The case is closed.