Morena and Allies Approve Constitutional Reform to Expand Preventive Detention for Certain Crimes

In a highly debated session, Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies has approved a constitutional reform to expand the list of crimes that warrant preventive detention. With 335 votes in favor and 108 against, Morena and allied parties have reformed Article 19 of the Constitution, adding extortion and crimes related to fentanyl and other synthetic drugs to the catalog of offenses eligible for pretrial detention.

Notably, two reservations proposed by Ricardo Monreal, Morena's coordinator, led to the exclusion of drug dealing and tax fraud from the list of crimes subject to preventive detention. These exclusions modify the original proposal put forth by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

A third modification added offenses involving the illegal introduction, production, and distribution of chemical precursors, synthetic drugs, and fentanyl-related substances. Monreal defended the changes, emphasizing that these clarifications are needed to prevent judges from releasing suspects through “technical-legal tricks.”

Monreal further announced that Morena and its allies are preparing a comprehensive tax reform proposal. “Many of us in Morena, along with PT and the Green Party, believe that Mexico will need a deep tax reform soon. A fair society requires those with more resources to contribute more,” Monreal stated, promoting the principle of “fiscal progressivity” as central to Morena’s vision.

The reform was met with strong opposition from the PAN, PRI, and Movimiento Ciudadano, who argued that the expanded use of pretrial detention could exacerbate human rights issues, especially for marginalized communities unable to afford legal representation. PAN Deputy Paulo Gonzalo Martínez warned that the measure would disproportionately impact Mexico's poorer population, who already struggle with access to fair legal recourse. Deputy Laura Ballestero from Movimiento Ciudadano also presented a motion to suspend the reform, but it was rejected.

International human rights organizations, including the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, have criticized Mexico’s preventive detention practices, stating that they violate fundamental rights. In Mexican prisons, nearly 40% of the more than 90,000 incarcerated individuals have yet to be sentenced, a figure frequently cited by critics of pretrial detention expansion.

"Today, Morena and its allies have once again approved an assault on human rights by increasing the scope of pretrial detention. This move directly harms the most vulnerable, those with the least resources, and those whom Morena claims to represent," remarked Deputy Martínez.