Mexico, Conflict, Informal Resolution

The Dark Figure

INEGI’s national victimization survey, ENVIPE, measures the share of crimes that are never reported or never investigated. INEGI calls it the “cifra oculta o cifra negra” (hidden or dark figure). In the 2024 edition, covering 2023, it was 92.9 percent.

Among the reasons for not reporting that INEGI attributes to the authorities, victims named “pérdida de tiempo” (a waste of time) at 34.4 percent, “desconfianza en la autoridad” (distrust of the authorities) at 12.7 percent, and “trámites largos y difíciles” (long and difficult procedures) at 9.8 percent.

Solution Over Formalities

Since a reform published on September 15, 2017, Article 17 of the Constitution has said: “Siempre que no se afecte la igualdad entre las partes, el debido proceso u otros derechos, las autoridades deberán privilegiar la solución del conflicto sobre los formalismos procedimentales” (As long as equality between the parties, due process or other rights are not affected, the authorities must give priority to resolving the conflict over procedural formalities).

The same article says: “Las leyes preverán mecanismos alternativos de solución de controversias” (The laws shall provide alternative mechanisms for resolving disputes). On January 26, 2024, the decree issuing the General Law on Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms was published. It covers negotiation, mediation and conciliation.

People Understand Each Other by Talking

Hablando se entiende la gente. “People understand each other by talking.” The Ministry of Public Education uses the saying as the title of a civics and ethics lesson in its Nueva Escuela Mexicana materials. The lesson calls dialogue “la herramienta comunicativa por excelencia para la solución de los conflictos” (the communication tool par excellence for resolving conflicts).

Conciliation Before Court

Since the labor reform of May 1, 2019, a labor dispute in Mexico generally goes through conciliation before it can reach a court. Article 684-A of the Federal Labor Law governs “la instancia conciliatoria previa a la de los conflictos ante los Tribunales” (the conciliation stage prior to conflicts before the courts).

In 2025, according to INEGI, 82.9 percent of the labor disagreements handled at state level were resolved through prejudicial agreements, reached before any trial.

Presumed Guilty

The documentary Presunto culpable (Presumed Guilty) follows the case of José Antonio Zúñiga, sentenced to 20 years in prison for murder. The lawyers Roberto Hernández and Layda Negrete took up his case. They found that the lawyer appointed to defend him had no valid license. The authorities agreed to a new trial, with the same judge presiding.

The film opened in Mexican cinemas on February 18, 2011. On March 2, a federal judge suspended its screenings at the request of a witness who appeared in it. A higher court lifted the order, and in two weeks the film took more than 18 million pesos at the box office.

Community Justice in Guerrero

In October 1995, communities of the Costa-Montaña region of Guerrero founded a community police force in Santa Cruz El Rincón, in the municipality of Malinaltepec. At first they handed detainees to the public prosecutors. When that did not work, the communities created their own system of justice, led by the Coordinadora Regional de Autoridades Comunitarias (CRAC).

A UNAM document on the system describes those found at fault: they “cumplen su condena mediante trabajo en favor de las comunidades” (serve their sentence through work for the communities). “En el proceso son reeducados por los ancianos y principales de los pueblos” (In the process they are reeducated by the elders and leading men of the villages).

In 2013, according to La Jornada, a decree of the state government prohibited the community authorities from applying reeducation or sanctions.