Introduction
The Mexican government’s intelligence and surveillance reform aims to combat organized crime, but its implementation without checks, balances, and robust financial backing could jeopardize businesses if they react slowly. For the private sector, this is a strategic issue rather than a political one.
Understanding the Reforms
During the recently concluded extraordinary session, Mexico’s Congress approved a package of reforms that establish the foundation for an extensive and centralized surveillance system in Mexico, driven by the executive branch. These reforms grant civil and military authorities broad access to personal, biometric, and telecommunications data without effective judicial oversight. Key reforms include:
- Ley del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública: Centralizes sensitive databases and allows real-time access.
- Ley del Sistema Nacional de Investigación e Inteligencia: Creates an intelligence platform without clear safeguards.
- Reformas a la Ley de la Guardia Nacional: Expands public safety responsibilities and data collection powers.
- Reformas a la Ley General de Población: Strengthens the Clave Única de Registro de Población (CURP) as mandatory national identification.
The system’s structure revolves around a technological network connecting multiple databases and digital identification tools. Elements like the Plataforma Única de Identidad, CURP biométrica (mandatory for accessing services), and Llave MX (digital authentication system) enable the state to interact with citizens and businesses for compliance with their procedures and payment of public services.
Implications for Businesses
The real-time access to personal information allows the government to monitor any Mexican citizen or legal resident’s life, both physically and digitally. This power is amplified by the weakening of judicial controls in a context where a significant part of the Judicial Power might align with the government.
The centralization of sensitive data increases the risk of cyberattacks, while the lack of supervision and checks could facilitate abuse by authorities without mechanisms to limit or hold them accountable. Although the federal government argues that these reforms are necessary to combat crime and modernize public management, the guarantee of digital rights protection is weakened by the institutional configuration designed for this new control and surveillance system.
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation declared the collection of biometric data unconstitutional in 2022, resolving case 82/2021. The court determined that collecting biometric data (fingerprints, facial recognition, or iris scans) violated citizens’ privacy, intimacy, and data protection rights.
This new reality requires a shift in corporate mindset. Compliance with existing regulations is no longer enough; businesses must anticipate an environment where digital surveillance, mass data integration, and direct state intervention in civil life are the norm.
Preparing for the New Landscape
Mexican businesses must recognize that their information, along with that of clients, employees, and suppliers, will be part of this new government information ecosystem. It’s time to design internal policies to safeguard assets, ensure human capital protection, and secure institutional patrimony—including intangible assets like brands, trade secrets, and sensitive client, supplier, and employee information.
Adopting international standards like ISO/IEC 27001 (information security management systems) or NIST cybersecurity frameworks offers flexible and cost-effective approaches to managing cybersecurity risks applicable to businesses of all sizes and sectors.
Regular internal audits will be essential to ensure compliance and prevention in this new phase.
Industries like fintech, logistics, technology, mobility, telecommunications, and service chains must be even more agile. As surveillance sophistication increases, many of their services and platforms will be nodes feeding the interoperable national intelligence system. Secure cloud architectures, network segmentation, updated confidentiality contracts, and automated access controls will soon be necessary actions.
Boards of directors should initiate strategic dialogues on their relationship with the government, reviewing key stakeholder maps to anticipate scenarios and define strategies in an increasingly vertical governance model.
It’s crucial to verify if the company has updated compliance strategies and proactive regulatory environment management. Ensure legal personnel is trained to evaluate government requests in coordination with IT teams.
Strengthen internal protocols and processes to record, address, and document this new interaction dynamic with authorities adequately.
New opportunities will arise in this new environment. Companies investing in advanced cybersecurity, technological innovation, and transparent traceability models can differentiate themselves in sectors where trust becomes an asset. Those adopting algorithmic governance voluntary frameworks, transparent data treatment policies, and active collaboration with international digital integrity initiatives will be better positioned to build a competitive advantage in an uncertain regulatory and socially scrutinized environment.
Simultaneously, fostering a preventive, ethical, and adaptive organizational culture is essential. Cyberrsecurity is no longer just a technical department’s responsibility but a cross-functional leadership, reputation, operational continuity, and sustainability concern.
Protecting human capital is also vital. Companies should design protocols to safeguard workers’ privacy, especially in critical roles, by developing responsible information personal use practices. This approach not only reduces risks but also helps attract and retain talent in an environment of growing scrutiny.
For multinational companies, consider extraterritorial regulatory frameworks like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
Citizens must actively participate in overseeing the use of their personal information, even when held by private actors. As security public institutions’ paradigm shifts, we must be prepared to demand transparency, accountability, and propose regulatory adjustments that guarantee the protection of our rights.
The private sector has an opportunity—and responsibility—to proactively participate in designing supervision mechanisms that reinforce this balance. Although the current environment is restrictive, there’s still room for businesses to support, fund, or collaborate with civil society initiatives like citizen councils or observatories promoting policy adjustments according to international digital rights standards.
A concrete action would be establishing a citizen supervision digital commission, supported by universities, independent think tanks, and technical and ethical support from the business sector. This commission could set objective metrics, technical standards, and independent audits functioning as effective checks to propose changes to the current model and advance toward a more democratic, responsible, and transparent governance.
*The author is the Director of Inteligencia Más and a master’s degree holder in Public Administration and Policy from the Universidad Panamericana.
