Ana Aguilar García [resident fellow in Mexico, Open Society Justice Initiative]: "The judicial reform foresees two sets of important provisions. One related with the elimination of the inquisitorial system, setting forth the adversarial system for the criminal proceedings, and the other the one that establishes special rules against organized crime.

A new system with the features of an adversarial system is welcomed in order to change the vicious Mexican inquisitorial system where the fair trial guarantees are constantly and systematically curtailed. The former is already in force in two states, Oaxaca and Chihuahua — and approved in three more, Zacatecas, Morelos and Baja California. The results so far have been very positive, with surprising statistics such as the 10% rate of pretrial detention in Oaxaca, making real the application of the principle of presumption of innocence for the first time in decades. Oaxaca, by the way, does not have the catalogue of grave non-bailable offences that the constitutional reform foresees.

However, in contradiction with the array of guarantees brought by the latter, the new reform also constitutionalizes situations previously declared unconstitutional by the Judiciary for violation of fundamental rights, e.g. the "arraigo" during the investigation, similar to house arrest, except that it takes place usually at "security houses" and could last up to 80 days. Moreover, the apparently new constitutional norms on organized crime do nothing more than the legal rules that have been in force for the last ten years. Hence the question of whether the constitutionalization of such rules will make them more effective arises.

These changes will require a strong commitment from the authorities for the implementation of the oral trials, and a strict and constant monitoring from the civil society to the implementation of the provisions on organized crime in order to prevent more abuses than the reform itself entails. Overall, the success or failure of these reforms will depend on the coordination between the three branches of power, and the persistent attention from the citizens to their enforcement."