CONSULTATIONS AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: EPISTEMOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES.

Táanilo’ob yéetel Máayaetbejo’ob: U Tsolobil Ts’íibo’ob ichil U Beel Políticas Ambientales

Abstract

This article proposes a review of the right to free, prior and informed consultation of indigenous peoples from an epistemic perspective, with a main focus on the Mayan people of Yucatan and local environmental policies. Based on a review of literature and recent experiences at the local level, it is argued that this right should not be limited to a unilateral legal procedure, but should be conceived as a mechanism for the recognition of indigenous knowledge and real and inclusive participation in the construction of public policies. In this sense, it is affirmed that when the right to consultation is exercised in an epistemically fair manner, an authentically democratic dialogue is achieved, with legitimate results that are aimed at achieving real environmental justice. Therefore, prior consultation is of fundamental importance as a mechanism to achieve a true consensus between indigenous ancestral knowledge, current knowledge, public practice, and environmental policy.