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Abstract
In contrast to U.S. Federal Indian law, which has classified indigenous tribes as "domestic dependent nations" since the early 19th century, Mexican law has only recently begun to define the political and territorial autonomy of indigenous groups. This paper contrasts the Mexican approach to this problem to that of the United States, first describing Mexico's 2001's constitutional reforms and their failure to clarify the nature of tribal sovereignty. It then analyzes recent court cases that protect tribal political and territorial autonomy by applying rights to consultation contained in the International Labor Organization's Indigenous and Tribal People's Convention 169 ("ILO 169") and the Mexican Constitution. It concludes by arguing that in spite of this effort by the courts, Mexican law still requires a comprehensive legislative or diplomatic resolution of the lack of clarity surrounding the political and territorial autonomy of its indigenous groups.

My paper discusses the ineffectiveness of California state law to address socially inefficient municipal boundaries. By focusing on the recent struggles of a group of industrial suburbs in Southeast Los Angeles County that includes the City of Vernon, the paper demonstrates how a fragmented municipal topography worsens socioeconomic decline, hazardous land uses, and a lack of political accountability. Next, I analyze California statutory and constitutional law on the subject, demonstrating its ineffectiveness in encouraging boundary modifications to address the inequities facing the communities of Southeast Los Angeles County. Finally, I suggest legislative and constitutional modifications to encourage greater political accountability and socioeconomic equity in California's municipal topography.

In 2013, a South Coast Quality Management District report revealed that an Exide Technologies battery recycling plant in Vernon, California was emitting high levels of arsenic and exposing 110,000 nearby residents to an increased cancer risk. After two years of investigations, inspections and more revelations, the US Attorney's office announcd that Exide would shut down and clean lead tainted soil from nearby communities. The pollution streched over six suburbs south of Los Angeles and illustrates one of the many maladies of political fragmentation in Los Angles County. As I describe in my paper, the fragmentation worsens socioeconomic condiitons and encourages pilitcal irrespoinsibility. No government agency has been able to remedy the ill efects of problematic municipal boundaries.