Plea bargain in Mexico, What it is, how it works, advantages and disadvantages

Plea bargain? A plea agreement, also known as a plea agreement or negotiation in Mexico, is known as Abbreviated Procedure (check article 201 of our book to better understand the legal meaning), in these cases the accused agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence by the prosecutor which can be up to two thirds of what is established by the minimum sentence for that crime, which makes this legal figure an attractive option for people from the United States or non-natives of Mexico who do not have a family or work life in Mexico and it does not cause them harm to have a criminal record in this country.

This practice is very common in Mexico because thanks to the reduction in the sentence that can be granted to a defendant in a plea agreement (abbreviated procedure) the person may be eligible to obtain libertarian benefits and be released from prison at that time (which we will explain later).

 Plea bargain, how it works

The criminal procedure law in Mexico establishes the following requirements for the origin of this legal figure

To authorize the abbreviated procedure, the Control Judge will verify the following requirements at a hearing: 

• I. That the Prosecutor requests the procedure, for which the accusation must be formulated and the evidence that supports it must be presented: This means that this agreement can only be offered by the prosecutor, without the accused being able to do so. It is important to note that in 99% of cases the public prosecutor offers this plea agreement, as it reduces his workload and the risk of going to trial and losing it.

• II. That the victim or offended person does not present opposition:  Victims may oppose this figure of guilt agreement, however these oppositions are only appropriate when there are expenses and damages to pay and the accused has not done so, a very clear example of a traffic accident where the accused has not paid for the damage to the vehicle.In cases of drugs and weapons, which are the most common crimes committed by foreigners in Mexico, the victim in these cases is the same Mexican society which is represented by the public ministry, in these cases there will be no reparation for the damage to pay.

•   III. That the accused acknowledges that he is duly informed of his right to an oral trial and the scope of the abbreviated procedure, expressly renounces the oral trial, Consents to the application of the abbreviated procedure, Admits his responsibility for the crime of which he is accused and Agrees to be sentenced based on the means of conviction set forth by the Public Prosecutor’s Office when formulating the accusation: These formalities are necessary for the judge to accept the plea agreement, therefore the defender must analyze the criminal file and be sure that this agreement will be the best option for his client.
  

Advantages

The main advantage of the plea agreement in Mexico is to obtain freedom when you are arrested and you also meet the following requirements:

•  That the sentence refers to a prison sentence that does not exceed four years: It is extremely convenient to accept this plea agreement when you are being investigated for crimes related to firearms or simple drug possession, since by agreeing to a plea agreement, the prosecutor will be able to subtract one third of the minimum sentence for these crimes and be able to be tried with a sentence of 4 years or less.

• That the convicted person is not a repeat offender of an intentional crime, has shown good conduct before and after the punishable act and that the sentence does not refer to any of the crimes indicated in section I of article 85 of this Code: It will be necessary to obtain freedom that they have no prior criminal record. It is important to mention that these are only criminal charges in Mexico, so if you had any problem in the United States or another country it will not be an impediment for you to access this benefit.

•   That due to his personal background or honest way of living, as well as the nature, modalities and motives of the crime, it is presumed that the convicted person will not commit a crime again:  In this case it is only necessary to prove that the accused has a job in his country and this will be sufficient to access the agreement.

Disadvantages and problems

The only disadvantage that the plea agreement entails for a person who agrees to this way of ending the process is that they will face criminal charges in Mexico.

 However, it is important to specify that having this type of criminal charges does not prevent you from going to Mexico as many times as you want. In addition, you will not be criminalized or have any problems with the authorities. On the other hand, the judicial authority will not inform your country about this criminal charge, so you will be able to live your life without any problem.