Mexico's 'Bullet Law' and the Criminalization of Public Protest teleSUR
go to original September 5, 2014

Mexican Police (Reuters)

After returning from its summer recess last week, the legislature in Mexico’s Puebla State has resumed its activities without indicating a clear direction on the fate of the state’s controversial Ley Bala or so-called “Bullet Law”.

This piece of legislation gives security forces the authority to use excessive force if deemed necessary against demonstrations.

The bill, properly known as the “Law for the Protection of Human Rights and Police Force Regulation” was presented by Governor Rafael Moreno Valle and approved last May. Yet in July, Moreno Valle called for the retraction of the law due to the public pressure.

Speaking to the press at the time of the bill’s approval, Moreno Valle said, “The protocols certainly always look to safeguard human rights, but also to understand that the rights of a person end when they infringe on the rights of another.”

But many human rights organizations denounce the law as a measure to restrict and criminalize the right to civil protest and assembly.

Carlos Ventura, director of the human rights center Fray Francisco de Vitoria, explains that the measure is the tip of the iceberg in Mexico. Various states have proposed similar legislation to that of Puebla or other bills that seek to restrict public protest.

Read the rest at teleSUR

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