The vote and the human right to religious freedom

He article 16 of the General Law on Electoral Crimes imposes sanctions on ministers of religious worship that, in the development of acts specific to his ministry, press the sense of vote either induce expressly to electorate to vote or abstain from voting for a candidate, political party or coalition.

This has been a matter of debate in that it has been argued that this provision restricts the right to freedom of religious beliefcontained in the Article 24 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States.

Bliss religious freedomprovided for in the constitutional precept, provides “the right of participateindividually or collectively, both in public and private, in ceremonies, devotions or acts of the respective cult”, which contributes to the discussion regarding the constitutionality of the restriction provided for in article 16 of the General Law on Crimes Electoral.

The controversy was resolved by the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation in the jurisprudence P./J. 18/2015 (10a.), digital registration 2009723, in the sense that the aforementioned article 16 of the General Law, referred to in the previous paragraph, does not violate the human right to religious freedom.

This is because it is considered that said legal precept meets the objective of criminally sanctioning those who use acts of religious worship for political purposes of proselytism or political propaganda, which it regulates through two specific actions, that of pressuring the meaning of the vote and to expressly induce the electorate to vote or to abstain from voting, as provided in the final part of the first paragraph of Article 24 of the Constitution by stating that: “No one may use public acts of expression of this freedom for political purposes, proselytism or political propaganda”.

The Plenary considered that “pressuring and inducing correspond to the behaviors with which the legislator intends to prevent ministers of religious worship in the development of the acts of their ministry or those who, in the exercise of religious worship, use those circumstances to influence the will of the electorate, with the understanding that this criminal sanction obeys what is determined by the Reforming Power of the Constitution, since a democratic State of law rests on the basis that citizens choose from among its members those who must direct the destiny of the State and society, which is achieved through free, authentic and periodic elections, …through universal, free, secret and direct suffrage, which implies that the citizen must go to the polls to exercise their right to vote choosing the political option of their preference according to their convictions and political ideology, without coercion or any other external influence that threatens that free will.”

As always, a pleasure to greet you, hoping that these few letters have been to your liking and, above all, useful. Until next time!

More from the same author:

Graduate in law from the Sinaloa Free School of Law, master in constitutional law and amparo and master in commercial and business law, with honorable mention, from the Universidad Panamericana, Guadalajara campus. He graduated with honorable mention from the postgraduate courses in civil and commercial procedural law, law of obligations and contracts and tax law taught by the Universidad Panamericana, Guadalajara campus and is a specialist in the areas of administrative, civil, family, commercial, agrarian, protection. , notarial and corporate. He is studying the AD2 Senior Business Management program at IPADE. He is director of the legal services company LMA, Integradora Legal, based in Culiacán and Mazatlán. Member of the Mexican Bar Association, AC, he was president of the steering committee and founder of the Sinaloa chapter, and currently a member of the national council of said association, he also belongs to the American Bar Association. He is a professor at the Sinaloa Free School of Law, and serves as an advisor to the advisory council of the State Human Rights Commission of the State of Sinaloa. He was secretary of agreements of the First Criminal Court of La Paz and external legal advisor and Interim Secretary of the City Council of the Municipality of Rosario.

see more