Background on the Reform and Key Players
In a 10-hour session, the Mexican Chamber of Deputies approved the creation of the National System for Investigation and Intelligence in Public Security Matters (Ley del Sistema Nacional de Investigación e Inteligencia en Materia de Seguridad Pública). This law enables the Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana (SSPC) to access over a dozen personal and biometric databases, both public and private, for research purposes. The reform stems from an initiative by Mexico City’s mayor and head of the National Reconstruction Program, Claudia Sheinbaum.
The Proposed Plataforma Central de Inteligencia
Under this reform, the Plataforma Central de Inteligencia will be established by the National Intelligence Center, an entity under the SSPC. This platform aims to systematize 22 diverse social databases, including health, financial, and telephone records. The objective is to combat both organized and common crime.
Legislative Process and Opposition
During the third session of the extraordinary period, Morena and its allies, the PT and PVEM, supported a last-minute modified dictamen. This legislation reformulates paragraph 13 of article 21 in Mexico’s Constitution Politica. The document has been sent to the Senate of the Republic for further analysis and discussion.
However, several civil society organizations have rejected this legislative package. They argue that it legalizes and expands state surveillance without democratic safeguards or controls. These organizations, including Artículo 19, R3D, Fundar, Amnistía Internacional, and México Unido Contra la Delincuencia, warn that these legal modifications pose a direct threat to human rights in Mexico and could establish an unchecked surveillance state.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the main objective of this reform? The primary goal is to create a centralized intelligence platform, Plataforma Central de Inteligencia, which will systematize 22 diverse social databases to combat both organized and common crime.
- Who proposed this reform? The initiative came from Claudia Sheinbaum, the mayor of Mexico City and head of the National Reconstruction Program.
- Which databases will be included in this platform? The reform aims to incorporate various social databases, such as health, financial, and telephone records.
- What are the concerns of civil society organizations? These groups argue that the reform legalizes excessive state surveillance without proper democratic safeguards or controls, potentially threatening human rights in Mexico.
