Local PAN deputy seeks to criminalize attempted dispossession, amending Mexico City's Penal Code

A local deputy from the National Action Party (PAN), Olivia Garza, has introduced a legislative initiative to criminalize attempted property dispossession. The proposal seeks to amend the Penal Code of Mexico City, aiming to penalize individuals who attempt to seize a property but are unsuccessful due to circumstances beyond their control.

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The legislation severely punishes the completed crime, but maintains a gap for effectively prosecuting acts unequivocally aimed at seizing a property when the dispossession is in process.

Garza highlighted that while current legislation severely punishes completed dispossession, it leaves a gap in effectively prosecuting acts clearly directed at taking over a property when the dispossession is in progress. She noted that the Supreme Court has established dispossession as a crime of instant consummation, occurring when physical occupation is achieved. This definition complicates prosecution of attempted dispossession, even with clear preparatory actions.

The proposed penalties for attempted dispossession would range from one-third of the minimum to two-thirds of the maximum sentence for the completed crime, translating to two to 7.3 years of imprisonment. Garza emphasized that the initiative does not aim to criminalize civil disputes or turn every preliminary act into an attempted dispossession. The Public Prosecutor and judicial authorities would still need to prove that the actions were suitable, immediate, and unequivocally aimed at completing the dispossession.

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Therefore, until that occupation is finalized, authorities face difficulties in prosecuting the acts as dispossession, even when there are acts clearly aimed at committing it.

"Criminal policy cannot consist solely of increasing penalties after a family has lost its home," Garza stated. "It must also provide the state with tools to intervene when there are sufficient elements to prove that someone is trying to take it away." This initiative seeks to equip authorities with the means to act proactively when evidence suggests an attempted property seizure is underway.

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Criminal policy cannot consist solely of increasing penalties after a family has lost its home. It must also provide the state with tools to intervene when there are sufficient elements to prove that someone is trying to take it away.