The Rights of Nature in Latin American Legal Systems: Progress, Challenges, and Perspectives

This article examines how the rights of nature provide a path to rethink human–non-human relationships through an interspecies perspective. It argues that these rights aim to protect ecosystems and challenge modern law’s anthropocentric foundations by incorporating insights from legal pluralism and Latin American constitutionalism. Focusing on the legal experiences of Ecuador and Bolivia, the article analyzes how Indigenous normative systems—with relational and spiritual understandings of nature—have contributed to the legal recognition of Mother Earth’s rights. It also reflects on the challenges, such as the friction between state law and Indigenous law, and the risk of symbolic appropriation of nature’s rights. Ultimately, the article contends that recognizing the rights of nature is not merely a legal reform, but a paradigm shift in legal ontology and epistemology. It calls for recognizing nature as a legal subject and fostering intercultural dialogues to enable plural and ecological justice.