Environmental Damage and the Defense of Collective Rights: Responses from the Purépecha Community of San Jerónimo Purenchécuaro to the Crisis in the Pátzcuaro Basin

Abstract

This article pretend to show the relationship between ecological damage and human rights violations of Indigenous peoples living along the riverside of Pátzcuaro´s lake, particularly the human and collective rights to environmental protection, water, and food, based on the experience of the Indigenous community of San Jerónimo Purenchécuaro, located in the municipality of Quiroga, Michoacán. The results presented were found through a research conducted between 2023 and 2025 in the community, using a Participatory Action Research (Par) approach, dialogue of knowledges, and participant observation.

The article describes the drought´s effects —resulting from ecological degradation— in Pátzcuaro´s lake basin. The text studies the alterations caused in the communal food system and the vulnerability that emerged within the community as a consequence of these impacts, particularly related to environmental protection, water, and food rights.

Finally, the article outlines the actions taken by the community and the results achieved thus far, as well as the challenges and future perspectives arising from the enactment of Mexico’s General Law on Adequate and Sustainable Food (hereinafter Glasf).