The National Anti-Corruption System Law sets forth the basis for coordination among the federal, state and municipal levels of government to fight corruption, and provides for a Citizenship Participation Council to help the government fight corruption. While the members of this council were recently appointed, there are other important appointments that are still pending and need to take place soon to continue building credibility; It is the latest component of the Mexican era of structural legal reforms including energy, finance, telecommunications and education, the the serve to strenghten Mexico’s image; It started with Constitutional reform, instituted in May 2015. The fact that the Constitution itself was reformed is in contrast to practices of governing by presidential decree, which can easy be repealed by future presidents. This path for legal reform also serves to enhance the image of Mexico as stable; In June and July of 2016, new laws or significant amendments to existing laws, including the National Anti-Corruption System Law, Federal Criminal Code, and the Administrative Liability Law, were published;
The Federal Criminal Code now establishes criminal liability for companies for over thirty crimes, including bribery of public officials, frauc, influence trafficking and money laundering. This is a major change in the Mexican legal system as criminal liability used to be limited to individuals. Penalties are very significant, including fines, seizure of property, suspension of activities, foreclosure, prohibition to bid in government, procurement projects, and even dissolution of the entity. A reduction of the penalties is possible if the company has a compliance program. The administrative Liability Law applies not only to government officials, but to non-governmental entities and their executives as well. It goes into effect on July 18, 2017.