Mexico’s Supreme Court Halts Port Expansion, Citing “Human Right to a Healthy Environment”

The Supreme Court of Mexico set a legal precedent when it halted the expansion of the Port of Veracruz, ruling that the federal environment ministry, SEMARNAT, “violated the human right to a healthy environment” when it approved the project’s environmental impact statement in a fragmented manner, failing to appropriately consider impacts on the Veracruz Reef System, which is home to sea turtles and numerous other marine life species. The Court ordered SEMARNAT to “comprehensively examine the project…, considering all the reefs and wetlands that are in the area of influence of said project.”