MEXICO: TAKING STOCK OF LEGISLATIVE SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 MEXICO 003743 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2027 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SNAR KCRM MX SUBJECT: MEXICO: TAKING STOCK OF LEGISLATIVE SECURITY ACCOMPLISHMENTS REF: A. MEXICO 3690 ¶B. MEXICO 2699 ¶C. MEXICO 3099 ¶D. MEXICO 2951 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Charles V. Barclay. Reason: 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Congress' work this session fell short of its 75 point security pact promises, but the legislation that did pass represents important steps forward in judicial and security reform and restructuring. The path to approving the legislation was not without some debate and concession, and laws still pending, most notably police reorganization, will be similarly fraught. Moreover, Mexico's most fundamental problem is not essentially due to a lack of laws, but rather the uneven and inefficient application of them. The new measures will do nothing to solve the country's embedded corruption issues nor help make significant advances in the war on organized crime unless they are effectively and uniformly implemented--something that is, of course, always easier said than done. END SUMMARY. Congressional Scorecard Mixed -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Congress started this session with an ambitious mandate to fulfill its commitments as established by the August 75 point security accord (ref a and b) -- to process all security legislation presented by the start of October, which included amongst other items, federal police reorganization, asset forfeiture, reforms to the penal code, anti-kidnapping measures, depenalization of small quantities of drugs purchased for consumption, and changes to the national public security system. Congress was able to make significant progress on a number of key bills, but other items will languish in committee through the winter recess as parties continue to hash out differences. ¶3. (SBU) With the end of the session rapidly approaching, Congress determined in early December that it would have to narrow its focus in the remaining days to successfully pass a number of bills. Congress pledged that it would consider four of the six key items of security legislation, including the General Law for the Public Security System, an anti-kidnapping reform, the creation of a national cell phone registry, and the "miscellaneous penal" reforms. Exceeding more pessimistic estimations that few--if any--of the measures would be passed this session, four bills were indeed �A;approved by both houses. Security Legislation Roundup -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The approval of the four bills resulted from a last minute push to see results before the end of the session. They include: --GENERAL LAW FOR THE NATIONAL PUBLIC SECURITY SYSTEM. Despite PRD reservations, both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies approved this bill, which the President submitted to Congress with the intent of improving coordination between federal, state, and municipal police forces, as well as establishing vetting and certification standards for all of the country's police officers. The law makes obligatory collaboration between the three levels of government and prohibits state and municipal bodies from designing security policy or strategies that are unregulated and do not follow specific national criteria. The bill calls for a new National Council for Public Security, which the President will head and will include the Secretaries of Government, National Defense, Marines, and Public Security; the Attorney General; the country's governors; the mayor of Mexico City; and an executive secretary for the National Public Security System. This council will be charged with determining criteria for the distribution of public security resources to the states and to Mexico City. The law also creates new centers for information, certification, and prevention to better coordinate government security efforts. Perhaps most critical to improving Mexico's corruption-ridden police forces, the legislation establishes a four year deadline for all of the country's 2,500 police forces to submit themselves to confidence control centers for common screening, including a drug test, a medical exam, psychological and personal assets screening, and a polygraph. A new disciplinary MEXICO 00003743 002 OF 004 regimen will be established to enforce legality, objectivity, efficiency, professionalism, and a respect for human rights amongst police forces. The law mandates economic sanctions for states that make poor use of resources and criminal penalties for federal, state, and municipal functionaries who misuse such funds. --MISCELLANEOUS PENAL CODE REFORMS. Despite its rather vague name, the "miscellaneous penal" bill includes some of the key secondary legislation necessary for the implementation of justice reform measures passed via constitutional changes earlier this year. Important measures include: allowing law enforcement agencies to protect the identities of undercover agents even in judicial proceedings; permitting the use of privately taped conversations as evidence; requiring the immediate registration of all suspects apprehended into a federal database; establishing punishments for illegally detaining suspects and tampering with evidence; allowing investigators to take their petitions for warrants to a special tribunal if permission is not ruled on by a judge within 24 hours; allowing investigators to provide special protection to victims of crime and witnesses; mandating crime scene protection measures; establishing minimum standards required for the rehabilitation of prisoners; putting convicted organized crime members in special maximum security prisons; allowing convicts from indigenous communities to serve sentences in prisons near their homes; and permitting the detention of organized crime suspects to be held for up to 80 days with judicial authorization before being formally charged while the investigation continues. The reform has been sent to the Executive for promulgation. --CELL PHONE REGISTRY LAW. Both houses approved and sent to Calderon a new law calling for the creation of a national registry of cell phone owners to counter kidnappings and extortions, in which criminal networks often use untraceable mobile phones--particularly the pay-as-you-go variety--for ransom demands. Telecommunication companies will be required within the year to ask customers purchasing cell phones or phone memory cards to provide their name, address, and fingerprints. It is not clear how the GOM will cope with the many informal cell phone and memory card vendors who sell such products unregulated in Mexico's streets. --ANTI-KIDNAPPING CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE. The proposed reform to Article 73 of the Mexican constitution would give Congress the ability to "expedite" a general federal kidnapping law to harmonize the kidnapping penal code throughout the country. It would also grant states new abilities to investigate and combat kidnapping, except in cases of organized crime activities, which the federal authorities will continue to investigate and prosecute. Once the constitutional change is promulgated, local state congresses will have to reform and adapt their local penal codes to the new law. The proposed change was approved by the Chamber and the Senate and will now have to be approved by 17 state congresses in order to be ratified. Conflict and Compromise -------------- ¶5. (C) The first several months of this legislative session were characterized by acrimonious deliberations over contentious energy reform and the 2009 budget, which hindered Congress' ability to begin work on security and justice reforms. The passage of these measures was certainly less divisive than the earlier items, and congressional debate seemed to be characterized by a greater sense of urgency and purpose. Nevertheless, the approval of these laws was not without some argument and concessions between the various parties. The National Public Security System Law seems to have generated the most points of contention during congressional debate. In fact, the Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) opposed it in the final Chamber of Deputies vote, feeling that their concerns were not adequately reflected in the final version of the bill. The PRD primarily objected to the inclusion of the Secretaries of Defense and Marines in the National Council for Public Security. In a conversation with Poloff on December 4, PRD Senator Tomas Torres claimed that it is unconstitutional for the military leadership to be involved in decision-making on civil issues, as it conflicts with their role on the Council. ¶6. (C) The PAN appears to have made a concession to the PRI by agreeing to name the President and not the Public Security MEXICO 00003743 003 OF 004 Secretary (SSP) as head of the national public security council. PRI congressional leaders explained to Poloff that their logic for the change revolves around ensuring that the President--the country's highest authority--takes responsibility for public security matters. Nevertheless, political and security analysts also suspect that a mistrust of the SSP in general and SSP head Genaro Garcia Luna in particular drove the PRI's approach on this issue. ¶7. (SBU) The miscellaneous penal reforms also caused some congressional friction prompting concern in some quarters that Calderon's proposal would give "excessive powers" to the police forces and risk turning Mexico into a "police state." Both the PRI and PRD rebuffed measures, for example, that would have allowed police to execute searches without a warrant. The PRD also secured a change to the originally submitted text--which had called for the complete secrecy of preliminary investigations--to allow some discretionary access be given to those involved in the case. Controversial Measures Still Pending -------------- ¶8. (C) Still on the congressional docket for next session are police reorganization, narcomenudeo, and asset forfeiture. Senate Justice Commission Technical Secretary Jose Navas told Poloff earlier this month that the Senate was on the verge of approving a draft of the asset forfeiture bill, which looks very similar to the original proposal submitted by Calderon. Nevertheless, local press reports suggest that federal deputies felt pressed to move to quickly on the measure and instead decided to devote more time to considering it next session. Most congressional insiders and analysts expect the bill to be approved relatively soon after Congress again convenes, but parties could decide to play politics, wrangle over terms, and delay its passage if it seems politically expedient. Navas opined that narcomenudeo, or legislation establishing penalties and investigative and prosecutorial authority for small time drug dealers (ref c),will probably also pass next session despite quibbling among the parties over quantities of drugs and types of drugs that should be considered drug dealing or simply drug using. Some PRD deputies are also reportedly advocating for the legalization of marijuana, which the GOM roundly rejects. ¶9. (C) Police reorganization to formalize the merging of federal police forces is more fraught and its prospects less clear. While the process to meld the Federal Investigative Agency (AFI),which has been under the Attorney General's (PGR) authority, with the Federal Police under the command of the SSP has already started, (ref d) opposition to the creation of a "superpolice" is strong within the PRI and the PRD. PRI deputies, including the coordinator of the PRI bloc in the Chamber of Deputies Emilio Gamboa and Speaker of the Chamber Cesar Duarte have reiterated to Poloffs that they oppose the creation of a single federal police force, arguing that it puts too much authority into the hands of an already questionable institution, the SSP. Analysts and other opposition political leaders have also argued that expanding the Federal Police and eliminating the AFI, which could be seen as providing checks and balances on each other, will only increase susceptibility to corruption and decrease police efficiency. Analysts also suggest that the PRI may be attempting to apply limits to Garcia Luna's powers. Technical Secretary for the Chamber's Public Security Commission, Manuel Ramos, told Poloff that the police reform legislation might be pushed off to the new congress (which will not convene until the fall of 2009),as parties start to harden their positions before the July 2009 legislative elections. Senator Torres confirmed that the parties currently are far from consensus on this matter. Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) Congress' work this session fell short of its 75 point promises, but the legislation that did pass represents important steps forward in judicial and security reform and restructuring. The new measures, if properly implemented, have the potential to significantly strengthen and homologize Mexico's disparate police forces, as well as discourage corruption within the ranks. Penal code reforms are also key to advancing the President's vision of more open, adversarial, and honest investigative, prosecutorial, and justice systems. The anti-kidnapping constitutional change MEXICO 00003743 004 OF 004 and cell phone bill, beyond potentially improving government anti-kidnapping and extortion efforts, will also demonstrate to a frustrated Mexican public that serious work is being done to combat the problem. ¶11. (C) International and domestic human rights organizations, as well as some of the President's political opponents, have expressed some concerns that the President's focus on enhancing security and combating organized crime comes at the expense of respect for human rights. This concern finds little echo, however, given the public clamor for even more drastic responses to Mexico's crime problem. More critical to the success of the government's efforts will be the execution of the new measures. Analysts and politicians across the spectrum agree that Mexico suffers not for a lack of laws, but rather the uneven and inefficient application of those already on the books. While the creation of oversight bodies and police control centers in theory provides another way to screen out corrupt officers, it will do nothing to solve the country's embedded corruption problem nor help contribute significantly to the war on organized crime unless it is effectively and uniformly implemented and corrupt officials are made to pay a price for their crimes. Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / BASSETT