精东传媒

May 22, 2018

Amnesty for drug traffickers? That’s one Mexican presidential candidate’s pitch to voters

With over 29,000 murders, 2017 was the deadliest year in Mexico since modern record-keeping began. Nearly two-thirds of Mexicans say crime and violence are the biggest problems facing their country.

,

A main cause of the bloodshed, , is the Mexican government鈥檚 violent crackdown on drug trafficking. under President Felipe Calder贸n, this military assault on cartels has left in 11 years.

While numerous drug kingpins have been jailed, cartels , competing for territory and diversifying their business. Kidnapping and extortion have surged. Mexico is now .

Now one presidential candidate in Mexico is hoping to win over voters with a novel response to the country鈥檚 security crisis: .

Justice not revenge

The idea, first floated by leftist front-runner Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador in , is undeveloped and quite likely quixotic. L贸pez Obrador has yet to even indicate precisely what benefit the Mexican government would get in exchange for pardoning felons.

Still, as a who studies drug policy, I must give L贸pez Obrador some credit for originality. His three competitors have mostly this campaign season by suggesting the same .

L贸pez Obrador, founder and leader of Mexico鈥檚 MORENA Party, is a who delights in challenging the status quo. In this, his third presidential bid, he has on several occasions that and corrupt politicians could be pardoned for their crimes.

When pressed for details on the amnesty plan, L贸pez Obrador has simply responded that 鈥渁mnesty is not impunity鈥� or that Mexico needs 鈥渏ustice,鈥� not 鈥渞evenge.鈥�

Former Supreme Court Justice Olga S谩nchez Cordero, L贸pez Obrador鈥檚 pick for secretary of the interior, has offered a few additional hints about the plan. She not as a security policy but as a kind of transitional justice. It would be an instrument used to pacify Mexico.

The opportunity would be time-limited. Criminals would lose their immunity after a specific date if they have not met certain conditions 鈥� though these conditions remain undefined. It would also exclude serious crimes such as torture, rape or homicide.

All presidential pardons would need to be approved by Congress, in accordance with the .

Amnesty in Colombia

Sound vague? That鈥檚 because it is.

L贸pez Obrador says that his amnesty idea is still in development, and with religious organizations, Pope Francis, United Nations General Secretary Ant贸nio Guterres, Mexican civil society groups and human rights experts to develop 鈥渁 plan to achieve peace for the country, with justice and dignity.鈥�

Colombia offers one example of how amnesty can be used .

In 2016 the Colombian government signed an accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, ending the Marxist group鈥檚 violent 52-year rebellion. In exchange for laying down their weapons, from prosecution for political crimes committed during the conflict.

The amnesty law is extremely controversial. Colombian conservatives and the United Nations alike have it for prioritizing the rights of guerrillas over those of their victims. Colombia鈥檚 peace process has also been fraught by delays, and .

Still, according to the , a think tank, conflict-related deaths among both civilians and combatants in 2016.

Would amnesty work in Mexico?

Mexico is not Colombia.

L贸pez Obrador is proposing amnesty in a different conflict carried out by radically different actors 鈥� drug kingpins, corrupt politicians and security forces who for 11 years have waged war with .

It鈥檚 unclear, for example, why drug traffickers would abandon their illicit industry 鈥� which supports around in Mexico 鈥� in exchange for a preemptive pardon from authorities.

It is also difficult to reconcile L贸pez Obrador鈥檚 vows for with his proposal to pardon corruption, though he finishing all accused of corruption.

 

 

L贸pez Obrador claims to seek a new 鈥溾�� for Mexico. He maintains that forgiveness is necessary to construct a 鈥渞ep煤blica amorosa鈥� 鈥� 鈥溾�� 鈥� in which Mexicans 鈥渓ive under the principle that being good is the only way to be joyful.鈥�

A simple expectation

Mexicans don鈥檛 feel joyful right now.

According to a , 89 percent of Mexicans believe the country is on the wrong track. Almost 70 percent disapprove of President Enrique Pe帽a Nieto鈥檚 .

Journalist and historian H茅ctor Aguilar Cam铆n has voters鈥� current mood as 鈥渕elancholic.鈥� , and have made them skeptical of politics. But, as Aguilar Cam铆n says, people also need desperately to believe that change is possible.

This discontent has given L贸pez Obrador in the lead-up to the July election.

To paraphrase the prominent Mexican-American Univision reporter Jorge Ramos, all Mexicans want from their next president is . So they鈥檙e open to unusual ideas.

During , the only candidate other than L贸pez Obrador to propose a is Governor Jaime 鈥淓l Bronco鈥� Rodr铆guez, an independent from Nuevo Leon state. He promised 鈥渢o cut off the hands鈥� of corrupt politicians and criminals, a suggestion that left moderator 鈥� and 鈥� aghast.

The prohibits punishment with mutilation and torture.

 

 

Electoral advantages of ambiguity

Only L贸pez Obrador, with his amnesty suggestion, has questioned whether aggressive law enforcement should even be the core tenet of Mexican security policy.

His competitors have the idea, calling it 鈥渕adness鈥� and 鈥渘onsense.鈥� Some accused L贸pez Obrador of being 鈥渁 puppet of criminals.鈥�

Alfonso Durazo, whom L贸pez Obrador鈥檚 would nominate to be Mexico鈥檚 secretary of security, that an amnesty law could end the 鈥渃ycle of war鈥� in Mexico by setting in motion a process of national reconciliation.

Meanwhile, to actively combat crime, L贸pez Obrador says he would the police and the military into one unified under .

Maybe forgiveness and justice is what Mexico needs. But, for now, presidential pardons seem like little more than a hollow campaign promise. As Mexican pundit Denise Dresser has , L贸pez Obrador鈥檚 amnesty plan is merely 鈥渁 blank page on the table, with multiple scriveners working on it.鈥�

, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory,

This article was originally published on . Read the .

UOW academics exercise academic freedom by providing expert commentary, opinion and analysis on a range of ongoing social issues and current affairs. This expert commentary reflects the views of those individual academics and does not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of the 精东传媒 of 精东传媒.