A Near-Unanimous Mexican Congress Lays Legal Foundation for Martial Law WSWS.org
go to original April 2, 2016

A commission of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies voted overwhelmingly on March 29 to approve an amendment to the Mexican Constitution granting the president dictatorial powers to establish a state of emergency and suspend democratic rights.

Under the proposed amendment, which will now proceed to a vote in the full chamber, Article 29 of the constitution now reads:

“In cases of invasion, serious disturbances to the public peace, or anything else that places society in grave danger or conflict, the president of the United States of Mexico, with the approval of the congress or the permanent commission when congress has not been assembled, can restrict or suspend, throughout the entire country or in limited places, those rights and guarantees that are obstacles to confronting, quickly and easily, the situation.”

Fearing the emergence of social opposition in the working class, the Mexican ruling class is establishing the legal framework for martial law and military dictatorship. Mexico’s most basic democratic rights, including freedom of association, freedom of the press, and the right to a trial and due process, can now be subject to suspension at the request of the president and the acquiescence of a pliant legislative branch.

The law was passed with the support of all of the major Mexican political parties represented on the chamber’s Government Commission, including the PRI, PAN, PES, Greens, and PRD. The Citizens Movement refused to oppose the amendment while MORENA, the party of former Mexico City Mayer Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, alone voted no.

PAN deputy Ulises Ramirez Nunez said that the state of exception is necessary because terrorists “have disrupted how we regulate our society.” Many of those voting in favor of the change cited the events of September 11, as well as the recent terror attacks in Paris and Belgium, to justify the constitutional changes.

The claim that Mexico is under threat from ISIS, Al Qaeda, or other Islamic terrorist groups is aimed at masking the true content of the law: preparing for state repression of social opposition. Aside from dangers of “terrorism,” “natural disasters,” and “plagues,” the commission noted before Tuesday’s vote that the law “also refers to internal revolts, incursions of internal armed groups, grave threats to the peace or internal stability of the State, [and] economic crises that due to their gravity can generate altercations in the public order.”

The commission also noted that the law “is broad, adaptable, and capable of being applied to diverse situations that put society at risk.”

Read the rest at WSWS.org

Photo: Reuters/Edgard Garrido

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