MEXICO[1]

General Information

 

According to its Constitution, the United States of Mexico is a federal country composed of thirty-one states and the Federal District-the national capital with an urban population of 8,605,239. Each of these federated entities[2] is divided into municipalities, which number 2,443 in total, as well as the sixteen political delegations of the Federal District. As a Federal Republic, Mexico has two levels of government –state and federal–, each of which has its own laws, although both are involved in certain matters. Mexico’s 2000 census recorded a total population of 97,483,412 and an average annual population growth rate of 1.9% per year for 1990–2000[3] The Supreme Court reported a population of 103,032,352 in 2003 [4]. ECLAC reports that 73.4% of all Mexicans lived in urban areas in 1995. This rate rose to 75.4% in 2000, and again to 77.2% in 2005. In effect, the country’s urban population grew by 5.17%[5] during the decade 1995–2005. According to the same source, average annual population growth was 1.6% for 1995-2000, dropping to 1.4% between 2000 and 2005 [6]. Population distribution in 2000 was estimated as follows: 33.1% between 0 and 14 years of age; 37.4% between 15 and 34; 16.2% between 35 and 49; 8.5% in the 50 to 64 age group; and 4.7% over 65[7]. Illiteracy among the adult (fifteen and over) population in 2000 was 8.8% and is expected to drop to 5.2% by 2015[8]. Life expectancy at birth in Mexico for 1995-2000 was 72.4 years, rising to 73.4 years for 2000-2005[9]. Those living in poverty accounted for 52.9% of the population in 1996, but dropped to 41.1% in 2000, and 39.4% by 2002. The extreme poverty rate also decreased, from 22.0% in 1996 to 15.2% in 2000 and further to 12.6% by 2002[10]. Mexico’s GDP growth rate rose from 0.7% in 2002 to 1.3% by 2003[11]. Per capita income in 2002 was US$5,940 and rose by 4.9% to US$6,230 in 2003, [12]. the latter with a purchasing power parity of US$8,980.[13]

 

Judicial System Highlights

• In March 31, 2004 the Federal Executive presented to Congress an initiative to reform the public security and criminal justice system through both constitutional and legal modifications. In the procedural area, a series of reforms were proposed along with the dispatch of a new Federal Criminal Procedure Code with the aim of establishing a predominantly adversarial criminal procedure that was consistent in its two main stages: preliminary investigation and court proceedings.

• In 2004 procedural reforms were passed in the state of Nuevo León, introducing an oral, adversarial criminal procedure system for crimes involving negligence. This reform also introduced a series of discretional measures to be exercised by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Ministerio Público).

• The Federal Attorney General’s Office budget ( Procuraduría General de la República ) increased by 4.7% between 2002 and 2004.[14].

• During the same period, the number of prosecutors increased by 15%. In 2004, 30% of prosecutors were women.

•  The average caseload of each Supreme Court justice was 278 in 2002 and rose by 77% to 491 in 2003. The Court’s clearance rate dropped from 119% in 2002 to 109% in 2004.

• The number of matters that enter the Supreme Court decreased by 38% between 2002 and 2004. The number of cases disposed decreased by 46%.

• Between 1995 and 1999 the holding capacity of Mexico’s prisons increased 19% from 91,422 to 108,808. Over the same period prison population rose by 53%, from 93,574 inmates to 142,800. Overcrowding also increased, from 2.35% in 1995 to 31.24% in 1999.

• Figures for 1999-2004 indicate increases of 23% in prison holding capacity and 23% in prison population. As a result, overcrowding decreased from 27.76% to 25.59%.

• Overall, prison holding capacity grew by 66% from 1995 to 2004, while the prison population grew by 104% over the same period.