They stop complicity with “dirty money”

Mexico will not be a haven for organized crime or an accomplice to dirty money, as there will be more effective mechanisms to combat money laundering by closing the legal loopholes that served to "benefit people who cause harm to the country." Now, the Senate government is seeking to dismantle the networks that finance organized crime, including electoral campaigns, warned the ruling party.

Yesterday, with 23 votes in favor and six abstentions, joint Senate committees approved the reform to the Federal Law for the Prevention and Identification of Operations with Illicit Proceeds. This reform, which for the first time includes monitoring of legislators, judges, prosecutors, police officers, commissioners, secretaries of state, and all types of public servants at all three levels of government and the three branches of government, including autonomous bodies, who will be considered "politically exposed persons."

But even though they support the improvement in the mechanism to combat money laundering, opposition senators warned that the wording of the bill opens the door to violations of human rights, personal data protection, banking secrecy, and the presumption of innocence for the entire population. PRI member Carolina Viggiano even considered that granting the UIF the power to investigate all citizens, leaving them vulnerable to authorities, turns it into "a Stalinist police station."

Yesterday, for the first time in seven years, the committees processed a change to the ruling, proposed by Morena member Manuel Huerta. The surprising decision left the opposition unable to propose changes, given that they hadn't brought them ready. For the past seven years, Morena has imposed a policy that changes are only made in plenary sessions, not in committees, despite internal regulations establishing that committees can make any modifications that are accepted.

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Manuel Huerta explained that “acting firmly is a decision of sovereignty, because tolerating money laundering makes us lose stability and sovereignty. From the Senate, our vote in favor expresses a conviction that is not negotiable. Dirty money cannot continue to finance campaigns, businesses, or power structures. The people elected us to dismantle this regime of corruption and hidden privileges and build a country where the law applies to everyone without exception.”

He emphasized that "this is not just a technical law. This is a political and profoundly humanistic decision. It breaks the networks of complicity that allowed organized crime to launder money in the financial system and trusts disguised as legal. In works of art that concealed multimillion-dollar transactions and in operations that enjoyed the protection of privileged sectors and individuals of the old regime for years."

Lizeth Sánchez, of the Workers' Party (PT), stated that "it's not just about legislative harmonization; it's about defending what we value most as a nation. The transparency of our institutions. The stability of our economy, and the certainty that Mexico will not be a haven for organized crime or an accomplice to dirty money."

And Waldo Fernández, of the Green Party, explained that "this law reduces the legal loopholes that were previously argued to be impossible, due to internal bureaucratic practices or even those between different levels of power. What we're doing here today is vital: we're closing these legal loopholes that only served, and I say this with all responsibility, the people who harm the country."

But Alejandra Barrales, of Movimiento Ciudadano, warned that there are drafts so general that they put citizens at risk, and the criteria are left to the discretion of the Treasury Department, rather than being incorporated into law.

Carolina Viggiano warned that she cannot support the ruling because "this law is part of a set of five laws that clearly aim to create a system of citizen surveillance. These include the General Population Law; the Public Security Intelligence Law; the Telecommunications Law; and this Anti-Money Laundering Law."

This law "is about monitoring all citizens' bank accounts. This is also part of the surveillance system for everyone, who will never know who has their data: the authorities, the military, or criminals."

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