MEXICO (Times Media Mexico) – On Thursday December 5th, the United Commissions for Justice and Governance of the low Chamber of Congress will debate, and approve, the “Amnesty Law” presented by Andrés Manuel López Obrador last September 18th, before the Congress of the Union.
Mexican newspaper EL UNIVERSAL got ahold of a copy of the Amnesty Law, that proposes the granting of pardon for illicit acts such as:
- Interruption of pregnancy/Abortion (women, relatives and doctors who practice the interruption)
- Crimes against public health (aka) Drug dealing/narcotraffic committed by “the poor”, those on extreme poverty or social vulnerability, those who have been excluded and discriminated against, or those who have a permanent disability.
- Non-violent robberies that do not require more than four years in prison,
- Sedition, which is the uprising of a group of people against the government
- Crimes committed by members of indigenous peoples who have not been guaranteed due process.
If endorsed by the Chamber of Representatives, and later by the Senate, it is estimated that it could benefit some 1,045 people throughout the country.
“The Amnesty Law that I submit for consideration of this sovereignty is a concrete expression of that commitment, as well as a manifestation of my will to uproot the causes of poverty and marginalization. People who benefit from the Amnesty Law must meet three conditions as a starting point in order to be considered as potential beneficiaries: first, that their final sentence was the first one they received for the crime of which they were indicted, that is, that they are not repeat offenders…
“Second, those that have not been convicted of crimes in which another person’s life was deprived, for crimes against bodily integrity or kidnapping, serious injuries that cause permanent sequelae, and, third, that in the commission of the crime they have not used firearms,” (SIC) describes López Obrador in his writing to the Lower Chamber.
Crimes to be pardoned
Abortion is currently punishable by a prison sentence of six months to five years that applies for different conducts. The Amnesty Law seeks to pardon mothers who have been charged with the crime of pregnancy interruption and doctors or midwives who have performed an abortion “without violence and with the consent of the mother,” as well as family members who have assisted in the abortion.
Crimes against health/Drug-dealing are punishable by 10 to 25 years’ of imprisonment and a fine of up to 500 days of salary for anyone who produces, transports, traffics, trades, supplies or prescribes narcotics not authorized by the General Health Law.
Amnesty is intended to apply to anyone who has committed health offences and is in a situation of extreme poverty or extreme vulnerability because of exclusion or discrimination, because he or she is permanently disabled, when the offence that has been committed was by following the instructions of his or her spouse, cohabitant, sentimental partner, blood relative or by affinity without limitation of degree, or out of well-founded fear, as well as to anyone who has been forced to commit the offence by organized criminal groups.
Amnesty would also apply to those who have committed health offences and belong to any ethnic group, as well as to consumers who have possessed narcotics in quantities up to two times the maximum dose of personal and immediate consumption, provided that it was not for the purpose of distribution or sale.
Simple robbery without violence would be part of the amnesty, as long as it does not merit a custodial sentence of more than four years.
The crime of sedition (a person or a group of people conspiring against the government), will apply to those who have invited, instigated or incited the commission of crimes as part of groups driven for political reasons with the purpose of altering institutional life, provided that it is not terrorism, has not deprived someone else´s life, there have not been serious injuries and/or firearms involved.
Pardon would also apply to people who belong to indigenous communities who have committed a crime but did not have full access to justice or a proper interpreter/translator, due to the lack of Spanish speaking.
The Yucatan Times
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