During the extraordinary legislative session held from 23 June to 2 July 2025, Mexico’s legislative branch fast-tracked the approval of at least 22 high-impact institutional legislative initiatives. The package includes reforms related to telecommunications, security and intelligence, enforced disappearance, money laundering, wildlife protection, among others. The process has been widely criticised for its expedited nature, lack of substantive debate, and the exclusion of civil society participation, as well as disregard for recommendations from international organisations and journalists.
Although some groups, such as collectives of searching mothers, have managed to have their demands heard, these openings occur as a reaction to social pressure, rather than a genuine willingness by the authorities to engage.
The legislative period concluded with the adoption of new laws and reforms. One of the most controversial is the General Law of the National Public Security System, which establishes the “National Information System” and paves the way for the institutionalisation of mass surveillance. Along with the reforms to the National Guard Law, the Federal Telecommunications Law, and the General Population Law, this legislation creates a hypervigilant environment, representing a violation of privacy and a setback to fundamental freedoms. In addition, the reform of the Anti-Money Laundering Law imposes new burdens on CSOs by requiring the identification of final beneficiaries and applying a risk-based approach that could result in organisations being classified as vulnerable to terrorism or money laundering.
Civil society organisations have expressed concern that this package of laws constitutes a setback in terms of fundamental freedoms, privacy, institutional checks and balances, and democratic openness. It consolidates a more centralised form of government, institutionalises a state surveillance model, excludes civil society participation, and increases legal requirements for the operation of organisations, thereby affecting their sustainability and access to resources.