President López Obrador said on Tuesday that his proposed amnesty law is designed for people of modest means who were incarcerated without having access to an adequate legal defense.
Speaking at his morning press conference, López Obrador said the draft bill he sent to Congress on Sunday will release indigenous people, women and senior citizens who were convicted of non-serious crimes.
“This proposal is for humble people who weren’t helped, who didn’t have lawyers . . .” he said.
Mario Delgado, leader of the ruling Morena party in the lower house of Congress, said previously that women imprisoned for having an abortion and young people convicted of minor drug offenses would also be among the beneficiaries of the amnesty law.
López Obrador said that victims of crimes will be consulted about the law and their approval will be sought before it is passed by Congress. He added that prisoners must make a commitment not to reoffend before they are released.
The president said the release of political prisoners will be more complicated but explained that authorities are currently working on the details of how the process will work.
Teachers imprisoned on “fabricated” charges of money laundering are among the political prisoners who could be released, López Obrador said.
The president said that the amnesty law is not part of the strategy to pacify the country, explaining that the government’s welfare programs, the National Guard, the campaign against the consumption of drugs, preventing corruption in the justice system, respecting human rights and confronting arms trafficking are all part of the plan to bring peace to Mexico.
“There are several links in the strategy, which is making progress little by little,” López Obrador said.
Source: Reforma (sp)
