Since the era of Spanish colonialism, authorities have recognized local forms of rulership, self governance, and juridical practice, with varying degrees of acceptance and formality.
Usos y costumbres political mechanisms are used by numerous indigenous peoples in Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia, and other countries to govern water rights, in criminal and civil conflicts, and to elect their representatives to regional and national bodies.
[1] Scholar José Rabasa traces the term usos y costumbres to the New Laws of 1542, which ordered traditional procedures be used in dealings with Indians rather than "ordinary" Spanish legal proceedings.
[5] Native Community Lands (Spanish: Tierras Comunitarias de Origen; TCOs), as recognized by the 1994 Constitutional reform, are indigenous territories whose governance is determined by usos y costumbres.
[8] In Colombia, the 1991 Constitution recognizes locally elected cabildos, chosen by usos y costumbres, as the governing authorities of indigenous reserves (resguardos) and the validity of customary law in these territories.