Mexico's Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) issued a ruling on April 30, 2026 [1], regarding the status of the Lago de Texcoco.

The decision is critical because it balances the environmental goals of the state against the property rights of the ejidatarios of San Salvador Atenco. These communal land owners argued that the government could not declare their land a protected area without prior consultation, and fair compensation.

Reports on the final verdict are contradictory. Some sources state the SCJN granted an amparo to the ejidatarios, ruling that the state must provide a "retribución" [1] for the land. This interpretation suggests the court found that the government cannot designate land as a protected area without paying the owners.

Other reports indicate the court rejected the amparos and confirmed the decree that declares the Lago de Texcoco a protected natural area [2]. According to this account, the court upheld the decree originally established by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Ministro presidente Hugo Aguilar Ortiz said he congratulated the former president for "escuchar a la comunidad" [3]. However, the conflicting accounts of whether the court granted a legal protection (amparo) or rejected it leave the exact legal standing of the ejidatarios unclear.

At the center of the dispute is the legality of the environmental decree. The ejidatarios sought a hearing and payment before the land was restricted. While the court's confirmation of the protected status serves an ecological purpose, the question of financial retribution remains a point of contention among reporting outlets.

“The court ruled that it is appropriate for the state to grant a 'retribución'.”

This ruling highlights the ongoing tension in Mexico between federal environmental conservation efforts and the land rights of communal ejido owners. The contradiction in reporting suggests a complex legal outcome where the court may have upheld the environmental designation of the lake while simultaneously mandating that the government compensate the landowners for the loss of land utility.