Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1990
MEXICO
Mexico is a Federal Republic which has been dominated by the
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) since its founding in
1929. Recent political reforms have expanded the opposition's
role and stake in the political system. A diverse political
opposition currently holds nearly half of the seats in
Congress, a major governorship, and numerous mayoralties,
Nevertheless, the PRI has maintained its predominant political
control by a combination of voting strength, organizational
power, access to governmental resources not enjoyed by other
political parties, and, the principal opposition parties and
other credible observers charge, electoral irregularities.
The principal law enforcement organization in Mexico is the
Federal Judicial Police (MFJP) , which is controlled by the
Attorney General. Elements of the MFJP, particularly its
antinarcotics unit, have been involved in human rights
abuses. State and local police forces have also sometimes
been involved in such abuses. The Salinas administration is
seeking to end such abuses and has responded by arresting and
dismissing some officials, although to date there have been
few prosecutions. It has also proposed important reforms in
arrest and investigation procedures.
Mexico has a mixed economy that combines elements of domestic
market capitalism with state ownership of major industries.
The current Government has moved to divest the State of
ownership of many public sector enterprises and to increase
the role of the private sector in the economy, as well as to
reduce trade barriers and some regulations on direct foreign
investment.
A wide range of individual freedoms is provided for by the
Constitution and honored in practice, but there are abuses.
These include use of torture and other abuse by elements of
the police, instances of extrajudicial killings, and recurring
credible charges by opposition parties, civic groups, and
outside observers of election irregularities. The Salinas
administration has made serious efforts to promote human
rights. It has created a high-powered National Commission on
Human Rights (CNDH) and appears to recognize that
implementation of effective electoral reform remains a serious
concern.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were killings of political and human rights activists
during the year. Political motives cannot, as yet, be
ascribed with certainty to any of them, though some observers
assert such was the case. The most notorious of these cases
was the May 21 murder of Sinaloa human rights law professor
Norma Corona Sapiens who had conducted a vigorous campaign
against abuses by the MFJP. Following an exhaustive
government and CNDH investigation, four suspects were arrested
in early July on charges of murdering Dr. Corona. The Mexican
Academy of Human Hights (AMDH) reports that Paulino Martinez
Velia, a bilingual teacher who worked among the Triqui Indians
of Oaxaca, was murdered on April 23, for reasons apparently
related to his organizational activities. Two persons were
subsequently arrested for his murder. The Mexican Commission
for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights reported that
Jose Antonio Simon Zamora, a National Union of Autonomous
Campesino Regional Organizations (UNORCA) leader, was killed
at home in Patzcuaro, Michoacan. Witnesses claimed his
assailants were soldiers. No one has been arrested in the
case.
Electoral violence claimed the lives of several political
party members. As many as eight militants of the Party of the
Democratic Revolution (PRD) in Guerrero and six in Michaocan
may have lost their lives in the first 2 months of 1990
following municipal elections in both states. The PRI claims
a lesser number of its militants also lost their lives.
There were no arrests in 1990 of suspects involved in several
prominent cases of alleged political killings, including those
of presidential candidate Cuauhtemoc Cardenas' personal aides,
Francisco Ovando Gil and Roman Gil Herladez. They were
assassinated just days before the July 1988 presidential
elections.
In Mexico's rural states, violent disputes over land sometimes
result in extrajudicial killings. Paramilitary bands and
local police controlled by political bosses and landowners
have threatened and sometimes killed peasant activists. Such
charges have been made not only by independent peasant groups
but also by the PRI-af filiated National Confederation of
Peasants (CNC) . At times, the quarrels are internecine within
rural communities; thus five peasants are reported to have
lost their lives in August in a dispute between the
Independent Central of Agricultural Workers and Peasants
(CIOAC) and the CNC in Bochil, Chiapas.
There were several cases of beatings by MFJP agents which
resulted in death. On May 15, Salvadoran national Osmaro
Majibar Flores reportedly died at the hands of the MFJP. On
June 6, three local residents of Isla Mujeres, Carlos Argaez
Perez, Jose Perez Guemes , and Amilcar Avallejos, were detained
by the MFJP as suspected drug traffickers. Held incommunicado
in Cancun for 2 days, they were subsequently released. All
three had been severaly beaten; Argaez died on June 9 as a
result of his injuries. An arrest warrant was issued for MFJP
officer Alejandro San Pedro Garcia, Argaez' alleged killer,
but he had not been apprehended by year's end.
b. Disappearance
According to the Committee in Defense of Prisoners, the
Persecuted, Disappeared Persons and Political Exiles of
Mexico, a prominent human rights group, there are 556
disappeared persons in Mexico. The United Nations Human
Rights Commission states that there are 270 disappeared
persons in Mexico. Most of these are historic cases,
occurring during the earlier presidential administrations of
Luis Echeverria and Jose Lopez Portillo. The Committee claims
13 people have disappeared during the Salinas administration,
including 6 PRD activists (Andres de la Cruz Zacapala, Vicente
de Jesus Santiago, Daniel Lopez Alvarez, and Miguel Esteban
Silverio, all of Ometepec, Guerrero, as well as Feliciano
Cleto Villa and Jose Catarino Salgado Martinez of Teloloapan,
Guerrero) .
Of these 13 more recent cases, the CNDH and the Federal
Attorney General have accounted for 5 people on the
Committtee's list: 1 was murdered, possibly for political
motives, and 4 people were located alive and well in
Guadalajara, Jalisco.
The case that received the greatest press attention in 1990
involved Francisco Quijano Garcia, owner of the "La Habana"
cafe in Mexico City. Quijano Garcia was reportedly abducted
by the MFJP on June 21; his whereabouts remain unknown.
Subsequently, other family members were apprehended and later
killed by the police; they included Erick Quijano Santoyo,
Jaime Quijano, and Hector Quijano. There were no arrests
reported in these cases as of year's end.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Torture is prohibited by the Constitution. However, police
agents continued to employ psychological and physical torture
and other abuse, most often in the period immediately
following arrest and especially during interrogation.
Acknowledging the problem, the Government has undertaken
considerable efforts at "housecleaning, " with press reports
indicating that as of September 408 officials of the Federal
Attorney General's office and the MFJP have been fired as of
September and arraigned on criminal charges; 306 of these
served in the office of the Deputy Attorney General for
Narcotics Matters. In October, President Salinas dismissed
Javier Coello Trejo, Deputy Attorney General for Narcotics
Matters. Also in October, the Salinas administration proposed
significant reforms of arrest and investigation procedures
which would prohibit police from interrogating detainees and
restrict the use of confessions in criminal proceedings. The
Government has intensified efforts to recruit new personnel
and to promote education and training of police in legitimate
investigative skills.
All U.S. Consulates reported cases of abuse of U S. citizens
in 1990. A significant number of detainees alleged they were
abused and tortured by law enforcement (and occasionally
military) authorities, most often to obtain an admission of
guilt. Overall there have been 97 complaints of police abuse
by U S . citizens throughout Mexico (through the month of
September), an increase of 5 over the same period in 1989. In
the majority of cases where victims have been able to identify
those involved, MFJP agents have been implicated. The U.S.
Government formally protested some 60 cases of alleged torture
through diplomatic channels, but the Secretariat of Foreign
Relations has not confirmed any wrongdoing by Mexican police
or officials.
The case of U.S. citizen Daniel Mendoza Mason is
characteristic of methods used by overzealous police. Mason
was arrested in Oaxaca in connection with a large drug
shipment. At the time, he claims to have been kicked,
threatened with death, and to have had his hands stomped on.
He was held in Oaxaca briefly and beaten further; he was then
transferred to Mexico City, where, he says, carbonated water
laced with chili was forced up his nose (creating the
sensation of drowning); he was again beaten, and subjected to
electric shocks. When seen by consular officers, he had
bruises and fresh wounds which appeared to have been inflicted
by a stun gun.
The torture/murder case of Mexican citizen Ricardo Lopez
Juarez and the torture of his mother, Guadalupe Lopez Juarez,
also received considerable press attention in Mexico City.
Lopez had been arrested for child kidnaping in March. While
in police custody he was tortured and, according to several
reports, died of injuries sustained. Police officials
initially claimed Lopez had cominitted suicide, then later
ruled his death had been an accident. Finally, in early
August, three ex-MFJP agents were arraigned on charges of
having murdered Lopez. Obstruction of justice charges were
also pending at year's end against Enrique Alvarez Palacios,
former special prosecutor for Mexico City's Gustavo Madero
district.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Article 19 of the Constitution and Article 161 of the federal
code of criminal procedure require that a judge review the
arrest of a detained suspect within 72 hours of his arrest.
The police must bring the suspect before a judge within 48
hours of his detention, at which time the suspect makes a
statement, and the judge must determine within the following
24 hours whether or not the detention shall continue. At
times, police and judges have failed to meet these
constitutional and procedural deadlines.
Incidents of arbitrary arrest and imprisonment occur
frequently, usually in alleged criminal cases and in land
tenure disputes. As an example of the former, the PRD Mayor
of Aguililla, Michoacan, Salomon Mendoza Barajas, was arrested
on drug trafficking and weapons charges. The CNDH later
confirmed the mayor's arrest had been unjustified and he was
released.
Exile and extradition of Mexican citizens are not normally
practiced in Mexico.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The judicial system is divided into federal and state court
systems, with the federal courts having jurisdiction over most
civil cases and those involving major felonies, including drug
trafficking. Under the Constitution, the trial must take
place within 12 months of arrest for crimes that would carry
at least a 2-year sentence. The trial itself, sentencing, and
appeals can delay the imposition of a final sentence for
significant periods of time, sometimes adding a year or more
to the entire process. Trial is by judge, not jury, in nearly
all criminal cases. Defendants have a right to counsel, and
public defenders are available. Other rights include defense
against self-incrimination, the right to confront one's
accusers, and the right to a public trial
The political opposition alleges that the judiciary, with
judges placed in office by renewable appointments, is
dependent on the executive branch. The Government, in turn,
denies that political beliefs have any bearing on the
impartial administration of justice. Factors such as low pay
for judges and law enforcement officials and high caseloads
contribute to the existence of corruption within the judicial
system.
Two problems in particular in the Mexican criminal justice
system contribute to abuses of the rights of defendants: the
failure to provide legal counsel during the first 72 hours of
police detention, and the acceptance of confessions as the
reliable and preferred proof of guilt. President Salinas
addressed these deficiences in October when he proposed that
interrogations be carried out only by the public prosecutor,
that a confession alone is insufficient grounds for an
indictment, and that a confession be legally admissible in
court only if given in the presence of the defendant '
s
attorney or other confidant. If approved by Congress and
rigorously implemented at all levels, these changes could
significantly reduce police abuse.
The National Front Against Repression (FNCR) states there are
currently 6 political prisoners in the country, down from 33
reported in 1989. That number includes the three Preparatoria
Popular Tacuba students arrested during the Lopez Portillo
administration: Cuauhtemoc Sanchez, Jose de Jesus Garcia
Ramon, and Antonio Orozco Michel. Historically, the FNCR has
claimed that most political prisoners in Mexico were peasants
and peasant activists arrested in land disputes. The
Government disputes the appellation "political prisoner"
altogether, charging that most of those listed over the years
by the FNCR have been guilty of common crimes such as
terrorism, criminal association, and damage to property. In
those cases where the government has acknowledged that a
person was unjustly or excessively punished, it has classified
their crimes as being "of a social nature" . The Government
continues to maintain that there are no political prisoners in
Mexican jails.
The Government initiated a sweeping amnesty program in
February 1989, under which a total of 1,400 prisoners accused
of committing crimes "of a social nature" have been released
from jail. While acknowledging the importance of the effort,
human rights activists, including the Mexican Academy of Human
Rights, have claimed that the amnesty program has distracted
public attention from the problems of political prisoners and
the disappeared. Critics complained that the program was
really aimed at alleviating problems of overcrowding in
Mexican prisons, particularly as the Government stepped up law
enforcement activities against drug trafficking. A "national
penitentiary program 1989-1994" was initiated in 1990 to
replace the 1989 amnesty. According to press reports, the
program facilitated the release of 1,293 prisoners in the
month of August alone. An additional 780 prisoners were
placed in prerelease status, and another 10,600 have their
files under review. Various states have undertaken similar
efforts to correct unjustified imprisonments and sentences as
well as to relieve prison overcrowding.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
Article 16 of the Constitution provides for the privacy of
individuals. Although the Government generally does not
intrude on this right, and search warrants are required by
law, peasants and urban squatters involved in conflicts over
land titles have charged that local landowners, accompanied by
police, have entered their homes without appropriate judicial
orders and sometimes have resorted to violence.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Freedom of speech and of the press are provided for by the
Constitution. In 1990 the Government moved to enhance freedom
of the press when it decided to sell off its controlling
interest in the state-owned newsprint company PIPSA.
Newspapers and magazines theoretically became free to import
newsprint from abroad. However, in order to make PIPSA's sale
more attractive to potential buyers, the Government moved in
June to modify its General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
schedule of concessions on four categories of newsprint;
modifications included withdrawal of duty-free bindings, and
increased tariffs (of up to 20 percent) on newsprint imports.
These modifications effectively limit the competitiveness of
foreign suppliers, leaving PIPSA as the main supplier of the
country's newsprint.
The Government's role as sole newsprint supplier has long
given rise to charges that it used its dominant position to
pressure editors into quashing unfavorable reports, with some
journalists avoiding confrontation by self-censorship. Many
journalists are dependent upon receipt of "under-the-table"
payments to supplement low wages. Considerable public debate
took place in 1990 as to whether a minimum wage should be set
for journalists. Opposition political parties have often
charged that Mexico's two principal television networks, one
government owned and the other privately owned but allegedly
partial to the Government, accord the PRI inordinate news
coverage, particularly at election time. Article 52 of the
federal electoral code provides opposition parties with 15
minutes per month of television time and additional time
during an electoral campaign. However, the opposition asserts
that the PRI ' s advantage derives from its status as Mexico's
"official" party. The opposition also asserts that PRI
activities (including campaign events) are covered as if they
constituted national news.
Several reporters died violently or were wounded under
suspicious circumstances in 1990. Excelsior and Unomasdos
correspondent Alfredo Cordova Solorzano was shot on June 6 in
Tapachula, Chiapas; Chiapas governor Gonzalez Garrido later
ruled the incident accidental. Three police officers are
accused of the murder of El Dia reporter Elvira Marcelo
Esquivel . Jose Chable Ruiz, Excelsior correspondent and
director of the Tabasco weekly El Fondo, was physically
attacked on April 21 after earlier receiving death threats,
reportedly from Tabasco state government representative to
Mexico City Oscar Canton Zentina. On April 23, Mario Barajas
Perez, editor of El Sol de Morelia, was reportedly detained
and beaten by the MFJP when he attempted to photograph an
incident in which the latter were involved.
In a case that received considerable attention, two building
guards for the prominent Mexico City daily La Jornada, were
gunned down on April 2, purportedly by agents of the
underground Clandestine Workers Revolutionary Party Union of
the People/Party of the Poor" (PROCUP/PDLP) . PROCUP is a
self-proclaimed guerrilla organization. The former rector of
the Benito Juarez Autonomous University of Oaxaca, Felipe
Martinez Soriano, was accused by Federal District Attorney
General Morales Lechuga of masterminding the attack on the
newspaper. The subsequent investigation occasioned
considerable controversy, with leftist government critics
claiming that the intense search for and arrest of PROCUP
militants, Martinez Soriano primary among them, smacked of
"repression." Several noted Mexican journalists and
academics, among them Jorge Castaneda, Adolfo Aguilar Zinser,
and Lorenzo Meyer, repeatedly received death threats in
mid-June; La Jornada founder Rodolfo Pena received similar
threats in early July. The Government responded swiftly to
the incidents, with President Salinas calling Castaneda from
Tokyo to assure the latter of a full investigation
President Salinas declared "impunity does not nor shall it
obtain for those who would damage the right to free expression
of ideas." A principal suspect in the 1988 assassination of
Baja California Norte journalist Hector "El Gato" Felix, was
arrested in May. The Attorney General's office reportedly
opened a new investigation in March into the possible
complicity of Joaquin Salvador Galvan, ex-MFJP commander in
Ciudad Juarez, in the 1988 murder of local television
personality Linda Bejarano. In the 1985 murder case of
-Excelsior journalist Manuel Buendia, the presumed killer, Juan
Rafael Moro Avil Camacho, was sentenced in April to a year in
prison for arms possession. Similarly, the alleged
intellectual author of the murder, Jose Antonio Zorrilla
Perez, former Federal Security Directorate (DFS) head, was
sentenced in September to a 30-year jail term for the 1985
murder of a Secretariat of Government investigator Jose Luis
Esqueda; he still faces other charges stemming from the
Buendia case.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution grants the right of peaceful assembly for any
lawful purpose. A government permit is generally required for
major demonstrations. The Government, with few exceptions,
permits demonstrations by a broad range of political groups.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution permits persons to practice the religion of
their choice, but no religious body is granted legal standing,
and the clergy is barred from participating in politics,
voting, owning real estate, or wearing religious garb in
public. Some of these prohibitions are not strictly enforced,
nor is a constitutional restriction against preuniversity
religious schools, many of which exist. Mexico is
predominantly Roman Catholic, though Protestant, Mormon,
Jewish, and other religious communities also exist
unfettered. Protestant evangelists and Mormons, principally
foreign-supported groups, are active and especially successful
in certain rural and largely indigenous communities. The
Mormons tend to draw criticism from both the Government and
the Catholic Church for their purported destabilizing effect
upon indigenous communities.
A significant rapprochement between the Catholic Church and
the State, begun by President de la Madrid and carried forward
by President Salinas, culminated in 1990 with the exchange of
personal representatives between the President and Pope John
Paul II. The Pope also made a successful and popular visit to
Mexico in May which sparked considerable speculation as to
whether or not anticlerical provisions of the Constitution
would be amended. In the end, both Church and State appeared
satisfied with tangible, de facto improvements to the
relationship; neither appeared eager to tackle the sensitive
issue of constitutional strictures.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Movement within and outside the country is unrestricted.
Mexico has traditionally followed a liberal asylum policy
concerning Central American refugees and asylum seekers from
other countries. The Government took a significant step
toward regularizing the status of refugees in Mexico with
promulgation of a new "population law" which for the first
time provides for the legal recognition of refugees.
The Government has customarily admitted persons recognized by
the UNHCR as refugees. Approximately 42,000 Guatemalan
refugees reside in camps and resettlement areas in the
southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, and Quintana
Roo . The Government estimates that an additional 300,000
Central Americans, most of them Guatemalans, are living
illegally in Mexico, most of them in Chiapas, though as many
as 100,000 may reside in the Federal District. Undocumented
Central Americans lead a precarious existence because they are
subject to deportation if caught and they are often exploited
by private Mexicans as a source of cheap labor. Some of these
people will presumably be eligible for refugee status under
the new population law.
Also in 1990, the Government granted the 23,000 refugees in
Chiapas the same permanent resident status already enjoyed by
19,000 refugees in Campeche and Quintana Roo. Until 1990
Guatemalan refugees in border states were restricted in their
movements and opportunities for legal work in order to avoid
friction with local residents and to discourage permanent
settlement. Similarly, refugee children born in Mexico were
not recorded or issued birth certificates and could not claim
citizenship. This has changed; Guatemalan refugees are now
permitted to accept work outside their camps and may travel
freely in the five-state area of Chiapas, Campeche, Quintana
Roo, Tabasco, and Yucatan.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Since 1929, Mexico's government has been controlled by the
PRI , which has won every presidential race and every
gubernatorial race except for the 1989 Baja California Norte
election. To secure its continuance in power, the PRI has
over the years relied on extensive public patronage, the use
of government and party organizational resources and,
according to opposition parties and independent outside
observers, extensive electoral fraud.
Following federal elections in 1988, 6 political parties
obtained legislative representation, with the combined
opposition holding 327 out of 500 seats in the lower house of
Congress and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)
holding 4 seats in the 64-seat Senate. The opposition
collectively made its weight felt on several important issues
in 1990, including amendments to the Constitution dealing with
"political-electoral" matters and the Government's bank
privatization initiative. Increasingly, the opposition is
taken into actual account in reaching decisions of national
import. On constitutional amendments, which require the
approval of two-thirds of the congressional membership, the
vote of opposition members has been determinant.
Charges of electoral fraud were heard frequently and
vociferously throughout the 1988 presidential contest and in
several major follow-on state elections, notably elections for
municipal presidents (mayors) in Michoacan, Guerrero, and the
state of Mexico. In November elections in the state of
Mexico, an opposition stronghold in the 1988 federal
elections, the Government claimed a sweeping victory, with
majorities of up to 20-1, triggering widespread charges of
vote fraud. Fraud occurs in Mexican elections, particularly
in outlying areas, less so in urban areas where a more
politically active and perceptive electorate exists. The PRI
has consistently defended its victories by denying allegations
of fraud while admitting only that the electoral system is an
imperfect one which could and should be improved.
Elections in both Michoacan and Guerrero on December 3, 1989,
were marred by considerable strife, often violence, extending
into 1990; postelectoral conflict in Tejupilco, state of
Mexico, in late 1990 also ended badly with 5 deaths, mostly of
riot police. In Michoacan and Guerrero, both PRD and PRI
militants often engaged in battles for the control of town
halls. A number of deaths were reported, with the Government
ultimately compelled on April 5 to call in army units to
Michoacan to quell the disorder. The Government's limited use
of army troops in Michoacan received a mixed appaisal, though
many observers agreed the action had a calming effect.
Historically, electoral violence has been tied to many
factors, among them electoral fraud, disputes for power among
local "caciques," between "caciques" and peasants over land
tenure, and, of late, among drug traffickers in both states.
The intense political rivalry between PRI and PRD in this
region exacerbated the situation. The PRD ultimately won 52
of Michoacan' s 113 town halls, including the state capital of
Morelia, and a handful of Guerrero municipalities.
The political system saw important new reforms in 1990,
including the establishment of a new federal electoral code
(COFIPE) which provided for same-day computation of election
results, criminal penalties for electoral crimes, and new
voters lists and identification cards. A new Federal
Electoral Institute was also established to monitor the
electoral process. Some opposition critics (PRD and PAN—the
National Action Party) still believe, however, that the
Institute as well as state and local electoral bodies remain
in government hands and that these will continue to decide
both procedural and substantive c[uestions in the PRI ' s favor.
They also allege that the new code will impede the formation
of electoral alliances, important to the still-divided
political left. A controversial December reform of the COFIPE
may have the effect of diminishing opposition congressional
representation. The true test of COFIPE will come with future
elections, especially the midterm federal elections in August,
1991.
The PRI undertook to reform itself when it held its 14th
National Assembly in September. The more than 9,500 delegates
resolved to streamline the party bureaucracy, create a more
representative 150-member National Political Council to
supersede the National Executive Committee, and to
decentralize and democratize the candidate selection process
for federal, state, and local offices, as well as for party
leadership positions. Similarly, the PRI declared itself a
party of citizens affiliated as individuals and not as members
of sectoral organizations (though dual memberships were left
untouched).
In May the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (lAHRC)
issued its report to the Organization of American States (OAS)
on a suit filed in 1987 by the National Action Party (PAN)
charging electoral fraud in state and local elections in
Durango and Chihuahua in 1985 and 1986. While not condemning
Mexican elections, the report did say that state electoral
codes were sufficiently flawed to violate civil and human
rights. In a later decision, the lAHRC declared the Nuevo
Leon electoral code in violation as well.
Elections for mayor of Uruapan, Michoacan, were repeated in
1990 because the first elections were unquestionably flawed.
The second, held on June 2, also provoked considerable
dissatisfaction, with three opposition parties (the Authentic
Party of the Mexican Revolution, PAN, and PRD) charging that
major alterations to official voter registration lists kept as
many as 30,000 citizens from voting. The PAN and PRD
indicated they might file suit with the lAHRC. The election
results were eventually confirmed. However, the Secretariat
of Government reportedly agreed, in response to opposition
complaints, to revise Uruapan 's voter lists.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
The Government permits both domestic and international human
rights groups to operate in Mexico without restrictions or
harassment. Ranking Mexican officials routinely meet with
domestic and international human rights activists to discuss
human rights problems. In June, President Salinas established
the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) and appointed
respected jurist Jorge Carpizo Macgregor as its president.
The Commission enjoys considerable autonomy in investigating
abuses, and President Salinas asked the Congress to grant the
CNDH the authority to subpoena information from government
officials.
The CNDH acted effectively in a number of human rights
complaints during the latter half of 1990. It assumed a major
role in investigating the murder of Sinaloa human rights
activist Norma Corona (see Section l.a.). In Tijuana, Baja
California Norte, some 65 prisoners undertook a hunger strike
in June at the La Mesa state penitentiary to protest alleged
physical abuse, as well as to demand judicial review of their
cases. At least 52 were ultimately placed in "preliberation"
status after the CNDH intervened (and after the PAN mayor of
Tijuana went on a sympathy hunger strike) . The CNDH also
recommended prosecution of policemen guilty of torturing La
Meza inmate Ruben Oropeza Hurtado; Oropeza lost most of his
intestine as a result of injuries sustained and finally died
on October 1. In late September, CNDH head Carpizo called
upon Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villareal to fire the
director and sub-director of the Tampico penitentiariy,
stating that prison conditions had been allowed to deteriorate
to the point where "flagrant" human rights abuses occurred.
Also in September, Tabasco State Judicial Police Director Jose
Conrado Garrido David resigned after the CNDH called upon the
Governor, Salvador Neme Castillo, to fire him for the
September 1989 torture and murder of Jesus Manuel Martinez
Ruiz. The CNDH reported that after his death by drowning,
Martinez's heart and lungs were removed to prevent
determination by autopsy of the cause of death.
In addition to the CNDH, there are four other well-known human
rights organizations in Mexico. The Mexican Academy of Human
Rights is composed of leading political and academic figures
and serves primarily as an information clearinghouse on human
rights abuses with occasional limited guidance provided to
individual victims and complainants. The National Commission
for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights was created in
1990 by experts formerly associated with the Academy. This
organization takes a much more direct role in advocating
individual cases. The National Front Against Repression
(FMCR) and the Committee in Defense of Prisoners, the
Persecuted, Disappeared, and Political Exiles of Mexico both
take highly public stances on individual human rights cases,
as well as on the general issues of political prisoners and
the disappeared. Also, various states, among them
Aguascalientes and Sinaloa, have moved to create human rights
commissions at the state level of government.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Language, or Social Status
Mexico takes pride in its Spanish and indigenous origins and
in the success the country has achieved in fostering a climate
of racial harmony. Indigenous groups, many of which do not
speak Spanish, are encouraged to participate in political
life, and the Government is respectful of the desire of these
groups to retain elements of their traditional lifestyle.
However, these groups remain largely outside the country's
political and economic mainstream, a result not of restrictive
governmental policy but rather of longstanding patterns of
economic and social development.
Historically, women in Mexico have played a subordinate role,
economically, politically, and socially. However, women are
becoming increasingly active economically and politically (two
women are members of President Salinas' Cabinet). Legally,
women are equal to men. They have the right to file for
separation and divorce, and to own property in their own
name. The Constitution provides for equal pay for equal work
and for maternity leave.
Violence against women, including wife beating, is not
infrec[uent, but there are no reliable statistics on the extent
to which it occurs. Domestic assault is a crime, but in
practice—largely due to social tradition—women are often
reluctant to file reports of abuse or to press charges.
Police are reluctant to intervene in what is often considerlE
a domestic affair. For the first time in recent history,
violence against women became an issue of public policy in
1990 when 61 Federal congresswomen of all political parties
(PRI, PAN, PRD) undertook to amend the penal code with respect
to sexual crimes. The bill also represented one of the few
times the chamber of deputies had ever initiated a piece of
draft legislation, rather than acting upon a bill handed down
by the executive. Among its provisions was specialized
medical and social assistance for rape victims as well as
penalties for sexual harassment. The number of women's action
groups is increasing throughout Mexico and they have begun to
offer counseling and legal services for victims of sexual
crimes. Notable among these are centers in Tlaxcala and
Queretaro. In the Federal District, similar services are
provided by the Attorney General's office, with specially
trained police officers and counselors available to assist
victims.
In a widely publicized case, four MFJP agents serving as
bodyguards to the Deputy Attorney General for Narcotics
Matters, Javier Coello Trejo, were arraigned in January on
rape and robbery charges. Approximately 20 women in the
Federal District filed complaints of rape against these MFJP
agents. Legal cases against the four were proceeding at
year's end.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Article 123 of the Constitution provides workers and employers
the right to form and join unions and professional associations
of their own choosing without prior authorization. Unions
must register with the Labor Secretariat, but registration
requirements are not onerous. These rights are widely
exercised in Mexico where a diverse trade union movement
exists. Approximately 30 percent of the total Mexican work
force, estimated to be about 26 million, is organized into
trade union confederations and independent unions. The public
sector is highly organized in Mexico.
The principal Mexican trade union organization is the
Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), which is
organizationally a major sector of the PRI . Many other union
organizations are politically independent or support
opposition parties. All PRI-af filiated federations and a
number of the independents (a total of 36 organizations)
belong to the Congress of Labor (CT) , a trade union
coordinating body which represents approximately 85 percent of
Mexico's organized workers. Criticism of the Government's
wage policy on the part of the CTM and the CT increased
markedly during the course of 1990. While the Government's
relationship with affiliated unions experienced strains during
the year, the significant presence of union officers in the
Government, especially in elected positions, and the continued
heavy union influence in the nominating process for candidates
at all levels of government, perpetuates a symbiotic
relationship which limits the freedom of action of unions.
There were allegations that during 1990 the Government
initiated pressures, on at least two occasions, which affected
the integrity of union structures.
Mexican law grants workers the right to strike. However, the
Federal Labor Law of 1931, as amended in 1971, sets forth
lengthy and somewhat cumbersome procedures for calling a legal
strike and strikes are relatively infrequent. Notice of the
intent to strike must be filed 6 to 10 days in advance, and
efforts at conciliation, mediation, and arbitration between
the parties in dispute are required before a legal strike can
take place. Local, state, and federal tripartite (labor,
employer, and government representatives) conciliation and
arbitration boards perform these functions. Article 123
grants public sector workers the right to strike under
specific conditions set by the labor law.
Several highly publicized strikes occurred in 1990. After
several months of labor controversy, dissident members of a
CTM-af filiated union initiated a strike at the Ford Motor
assembly plant in the state of Mexico on January 8. The
dispute centered on wage/benefit issues and complaints of
alleged union leadership-sponsored violence that resulted in
the death of one worker during a confrontation between
strikers and alleged strikebreakers. Armed men attacked Ford
workers on January 8. Subsequently a CTM leader and his two
sons, and nine associates were arrested and charged with
responsibility in the attack. Soon after the beginning of the
strike, it was ruled illegal by the Federal Labor Conciliation
and Arbitration Board, and 570 workers were eventually fired.
On July 26, the Ford Motor Company reached an agreement with
dismissed workers over severance pay compensation, marking an
end to the labor dispute. On February 15, workers at the
Modelo brewery initiated a strike action over similar issues.
Like the Ford strike, the Modelo labor dispute was also ruled
illegal, and involved police intervention. Workers returned
to their jobs after several months. Other strikes or labor
disturbances of note occurred in the state university system.
Coca Cola of Chihuahua state, Olivetti (Tlaxcala state), and
Dina, among others.
Mexican unions may, without prior authorization, freely form
federations or associations and belong to international
organizations. Early in 1990 a new federation, the
Confederation of Service and Parastatal Unions (FESBES), made
up of the Airlines Pilot's Union, Airline Stewardesses and
Stewards union. Electricians, Telephone Workers, and several
other smaller unions was formed.
The CTM is affiliated with the International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions and the latter 's inter-American regional
organization. One of the smaller independent unions belongs
to the Latin American Confederation of Workers. The
Communist-controlled World Federation of Trade Unions has one
minor Mexican affiliate.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Both the right to organize and to bargain collectively are
provided for by labor law, and are generally respected in
practice. There appear to be few, if any, restraints on union
organizing. Collective bargaining is widespread, particularly
in industry and commerce. The above mentioned tripartite
boards of conciliation and arbitration promote voluntary
worker-employer negotiations. The boards have additional,
statutory responsibilities which include registering
collective bargaining agreements reached between labor and
management.
Workers are legally protected against antiunion
discrimination; the law is not effectively enforced by the
Secretariat of Labor. There are no legal requirements for
unionization in any industry or branch of commerce, but labor
laws encourage unionization. Although government workers are
almost fully unionized, collective bargaining in the
government sector is much less common since bargaining does
not cover wages and is limited to certain working conditions.
The right to organize and bargain collectively is respected in
the export processing or "maquila" zones, although workers in
some 80 to 90 percent of the firms do not belong to unions,
the pattern of union organization varying greatly from one
zone to another. Some observers attribute the low percentage
of organization to the fact that nonunion "maquila" firms
provide benefits and working conditions that match or exceed
those covered by union contracts. A 1990 study by the U.S.
Department of Labor suggested that antiunion attitudes on the
part of employers and the existence of "company unions"
contributed to the low rate of organization in "raaquiladora"
areas. The report cited allegations, denied by the Government
and the unions, that a tacit agreement was made between the
Government and the CTM to avoid active organization in the
"maquila" industries.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Mexico is a signatory to ILO Conventions 29 and 105 regarding
the prohibition of forced labor, and such practices are also
prohibited by Mexican law. There have been no reports for
many years of forced labor in Mexico.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The law sets the minimum age for employment at 14. Children
over 14 years but under 16 years of age may work a maximum of
6 hours per day and are provided additional legal protection.
They may not be employed in certain hazardous jobs. Child
labor laws are observed fairly strictly in large and
medium-sized manufacturing and commercial establishments. This
is less true in small shops and factories, and many street
vendors are children. Enforcement of child labor laws is the
responsibility of the Labor Secretariat and local, state, and
federal boards of conciliation and arbitration. The above
mentioned U.S. Department of Labor Study reached the
conclusion that minimum age legislation is generally complied
with in the "maquila" industries.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The Constitution provides for a minimum wage for workers, with
variations for geographic zones and professional
specializations. The National Minimum Wage Commission
—
another tripartite body—sets the minimum rate of pay,
approving periodic increases. Since late 1987, successive
tripartite economic pacts have restricted the frequency of
wage increases. On December 5, 1989, the Government announced
a 10-percent increase, bringing the minimum daily wage in
Mexico City (the highest of the three geographic zones) to
approximately $3.23. The next adjustment was scheduled for
December 1990.
Inflation and frequent devaluations have significantly eroded
the peso's purchasing power, with the average worker suffering
a 50-percent decline in real wages since 1982. Although
inflation in 1990 still appeared to be under control, the
incremental \ipward movement of inflation rates and the current
minimum wage provides for a barely acceptable standard of
living for the substantial number of workers who receive it.
With additional contract benefits, organized workers enjoy a
somewhat better standard of living than the unorganized. The
U.S. Labor Department study noted that the Government, in
controlling the minimum wage (which serves as a benchmark) has
not always been able to help workers keep up with inflation
and the devaluations of the peso. It finds itself, according
to the study, in the difficult position of trying to balance
its desire to improve the social lot of workers with its
desire to retain employers who might otherwise go elsewhere.
The maximum legal workweek is 48 hours. In recent years, the
average workweek has declined considerably, to a level of
approximately 42 to 43 hours. The CTM and other Mexican
unions are currently campaigning for legislation to reduce the
legal maximum from 48 to 40 hours, and current tripartite
negotiations have focused on this issue. In practice,
however, many Mexicans work at more than one job and exceed
the average 42 to 43 hours per week. The Constitution
provides for required rest periods, stipulating that workers
who do, in fact, put in more than 3 hours of overtime per day
or work overtime more than 3 consecutive days must be paid
triple his regular wage rate. Anecdotal evidence suggests
that workers frequently exceed these work hours.
With respect to occupational health and safety, legislation is
relatively advanced and provides substantial protection.
Health and safety standards are better observed in large
firms. There appears to be a higher incidence of industrial
accidents in smaller firms and on construction sites. This
does not reflect inadequate legislation, but rather too few
inspection personnel to monitor adequately health and safety
regulations. Mexican labor law requires the formation of
mixed commissions of government, labor, and workers to oversee
security and hygiene; it also sets conditions for compensation
due to work-related illness or injury.
