Presentación de Amicus Curiae en relación con el Amparo en Revisión 54/2021, en la Primera Sala de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación

The document argues for a broad interpretation of 'legitimate interest' in environmental litigation, asserting that any person with a link to a vulnerable ecosystem service—even if indirect or remote—should have legal standing. It specifically applies this to the expansion of the Port of Veracruz, detailing how the project threatens the Veracruz Reef System (SAV) through sedimentation, destruction of coastal dunes, water pollution, and air degradation, thereby violating the human right to a healthy environment.

• The expansion of the Port of Veracruz is projected to produce 37,929,854 m3 of sediments, which can kill coral reefs and seagrasses by depositing on them and blocking sunlight necessary for photosynthesis.
• The project directly affects 71 hectares of the Punta Gorda reef and 43 hectares of seagrasses, which are critical for dissipating up to 97% of wave energy to prevent flooding and erosion.
• The project transforms beaches and coastal dunes into impermeable paved surfaces, eliminating services such as coastal protection, carbon sequestration, and the mitigation of sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion.
• Port expansion will degrade water quality through runoff of oils and toxic substances from pavement, as well as ship discharges of pathogens and plastics, and will contaminate water with heavy metals like copper from dredged sediments.
• The project is expected to triple port capacity, leading to a proportional increase in air pollution from diesel engines in ships, trucks, and trains, which increases the risk of asthma, cardiovascular disease, and lung cancer for nearby communities.
• The document argues that the right to a healthy environment has a 'subjective dimension' where legal standing is established if a person benefits from or uses the 'adjacent environment' of an ecosystem, regardless of whether they are in the immediate vicinity.
• The document asserts a 'objective dimension' of the right to a healthy environment, which protects nature as a fundamental legal asset in itself, allowing for legal standing even without evidence of direct risk to individual persons.
• The brief contends that the lower court erred by requiring plaintiffs to demonstrate a 'special position' different from the rest of the population, arguing that ecosystem services typically benefit large populations similarly.

APA

MARTINEZ, G. Z., & ARCHILA, S. L. M. (2021). Presentación de Amicus Curiae en relación con el Amparo en Revisión 54/2021, en la Primera Sala de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/amicus_veracruz_220103_publicacion.pdf

Chicago

MARTINEZ, GUILLERMO ZÚÑIGA, and SANDRA LINETTE MOGUEL ARCHILA. Presentación de Amicus Curiae en relación con el Amparo en Revisión 54/2021, en la Primera Sala de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación. Earthjustice, 2021. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/amicus_veracruz_220103_publicacion.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=MARTINEZ |first1=GUILLERMO ZÚÑIGA |last2=ARCHILA |first2=SANDRA LINETTE MOGUEL |title=Presentación de Amicus Curiae en relación con el Amparo en Revisión 54/2021, en la Primera Sala de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación |publisher=Earthjustice |date=3 January 2021 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/amicus_veracruz_220103_publicacion.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{martinez2021presentacin, author = {MARTINEZ, GUILLERMO ZÚÑIGA and ARCHILA, SANDRA LINETTE MOGUEL}, title = {{Presentación de Amicus Curiae en relación con el Amparo en Revisión 54/2021, en la Primera Sala de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/amicus_veracruz_220103_publicacion.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }