Quintana Roo Government Reverses Free Speech Restrictions

The Quintana Roo Government has introduced a counter-reform to article 182 of the State Penal Code. The original article had been altered to increase penalties for obstructions of communication routes and transportation, a move that was widely criticized for its potential to limit social protests. The original reform imposed sentences of up to four years in prison for those disrupting public transportation, streets, roads, or the technology used in these systems.

Organizations such as Amnesty International warned that this reform criminalized social protest and infringed on fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. In a statement, Amnesty International highlighted that using the penal system to discourage protest disproportionately affects the most vulnerable populations. "Social protest is a legitimate tool to demand rights, protesting is not a crime," the organization stressed.

In response to these criticisms, the Executive Power's legal counsel, Carlos Felipe Fuentes del Río, presented a counter-reform proposal to the State Congress. "A guiding verb of the criminal type that caused concern among collectives was removed. This clarified the standard to guarantee the right to free expression," Fuentes del Río explained.

The revised wording of the article still imposes penalties for those who damage or alter road infrastructure, as well as those who detain public transportation vehicles. However, the reference to obstruction of routes was removed, preventing the standard from being interpreted as a prohibition of protests.

Despite this adjustment, authorities emphasized that there are secondary laws in the administrative sphere that regulate public demonstrations. "One's right ends where another's right begins. The exercise of free expression should cause the least possible impact on society," the legal counsel concluded.