Mexico has had more than 120,000 people go missing since 1952, mostly victims of the war between drug gangs. Citing this issue and a desire to modernise the administration, the Mexican Parliament adopted a package of more than twenty laws at the end of June, including the CURP, which can be translated as ‘unique population registry code’, a mandatory identifier associated with biometric data such as fingerprints and facial recognition, which will serve as both a physical and digital identification document.
Whether you’re going to the dentist, buying a gym membership or opening a bank account, this ID will be essential for administrative procedures and accessing public and private services. The CURP will thus create a digital footprint of citizens’ activities, linked to a national register that can be consulted by the state. The stated objective is to enable the authorities to carry out real-time searches for missing persons. Of course, this package of laws increases the Mexican government’s surveillance capabilities. When this type of information is centralised in a single database, it allows authorities to build up an individual profile from which they can make deductions or track your movements, as this data can be accessed not only by law enforcement agencies but also by the army. This database provides no protection: there is no control over access to the data and no guarantees regarding its use.
The argument of combating disappearances raises questions: prisons will simply take steps to leave no trace, which could in fact hinder efforts to find victims and combat enforced disappearances.
[Source: Secours Rouge]
| DATE | LOCATION | EVENT | ARRESTS | CHECKS | VIOLENCE | SOURCE |
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