Abstract

NERI GUARNEROS, Porfirio. Magistrates, Judges, and Lawyers. Legal Personality of Indigenous Communities, 1878-1879. Estud. hist. mod. contemp. Mex [online]. 2026, n.71, pp.36-57.  Epub Apr 13, 2026. ISSN 0185-2620.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iih.24485004e.2026.71.78041.

This article, based on an amparo lawsuit filed by María de la Luz Servín de Capetillo, analyzes the debate between lawyers and judicial authorities on the legal personality of indigenous communities in the early years of the Porfiriato. Through judicial and newspaper sources, it shows how the Supreme Court’s ruling on this case set a precedent on the legal incapacity of indigenous communities to litigate, a decision that generated widespread controversy among jurists of the time. It also argues that the new legal framework on property -including the Law of June 25, 1856, and Article 27th of the 1857 Constitution-transformed the administration of justice to these communities.

Keywords : legal personality; indigenous peoples; amparo proceedings; lawyers; courts.

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