Synopsis "Mexico: Human Rights (in English)"
Mexico is a multi-party federal republic with an elected president and bicameral legislature. On July 1, 2012, citizens elected President Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to a six-year term in generally free and fair multi-party elections; Pena Nieto took office December 1, 2012. Although authorities generally maintained effective control over the security forces, there were instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control and committed human rights abuses. Significant human rights-related problems included police and military involvement in serious abuses, including unlawful killings, physical abuse, torture, and disappearances. Widespread impunity and corruption remained serious problems, particularly at the state and local levels, in the security forces, and in the judicial sector. Violence attributed to transnational and local criminal organizations, violence against women, and violence against journalists that limited freedom of expression persisted. The country's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) and other sources reported the following problems: kidnappings; physical abuse; harsh, overcrowded prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; and confessions coerced through torture. Additionally, there were reports of threats and violence against human rights defenders and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons; kidnapping, robbery and abuse of migrants; domestic violence; trafficking in persons; abuse of people with disabilities; social and economic discrimination against some members of the indigenous population; and exploitation of child labor.
