The Chamber of Deputies of Mexico approved - with 250 votes in favor, 197 against and zero abstentions - a reform to the Amnesty Law. This measure gives power to the president of the country to release people sentenced or in judicial proceedings who collaborate in the clarification of crimes.
In general and in particular, the Chamber of Deputies approved the opinion with a draft decree that adds article 9 to the Amnesty Law, to empower the head of the Federal Executive to grant amnesty directly. It emphasizes that The amnesty granted in terms of the provisions of this article will extinguish the criminal actions and sanctions imposed.
⭕ La Cámara de Diputados aprobó, en lo general y en lo particular, el dictamen que adiciona un artículo 9 a la #LeyDeAmnistía para facultar al titular del Ejecutivo Federal a otorgar amnistía de manera directa.
Más información: https://t.co/hOsnbojhKy
— Cámara de Diputados (@Mx_Diputados) April 25, 2024
The measure authorizes the head of the Executive to give legal forgiveness without having to follow the traditional established procedure. According to the text, "amnesty can be granted directly, without being subject to the established procedure, to people prosecuted, sentenced and who provide verifiable elements that are useful to know the truth of the facts in cases that are relevant":
With this addition, it is established that by exclusive determination of the person holding the Federal Executive Branch, the benefit of amnesty may be granted directly, without being subject to the procedure established in this order, in specific cases that meet the following conditions:
That the amnesty be granted to people who provide verifiable elements that are useful to know the truth of the facts in cases that are relevant to the Mexican State, and that against the person or persons to whom the amnesty is granted, there has been criminal action has been taken, are being prosecuted or are being sentenced for any crime.
The reform had previously been approved by the Senate, and has already been sent to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) for it to be promulgated and come into force.
The opposition against: it is equivalent to "giving the keys" of the prisons to the president
The reform of the Amparo Law was also approved in the Chamber. This will prevent judges from suspending rules and measures that have been challenged in the courts. One of the main confrontations that has always existed between AMLO and the country's Judiciary.
In his morning conference, President López Obrador commented that with the reform - for example - he could offer amnesty in the case of the disappearance of the 43 students from the Ayotzinapa school (Guerrero).
It is very important to us to know where the young people are, to deliver the young people (from Ayotzinapa).
Opponents of the Obrador Government described the measure as typical of "totalitarian regimes" and assured that this is equivalent to "giving the keys" to the prisons to the president.
