Mexico Tightens Security Measures at Sporting Events

Ahead of the FIFA World Cup and in general for national sports, the Sports Commission of the Chamber of Deputies approved a bill to amend the General Law on Physical Culture and Sports. The bill mandates implementing security measures at sporting events, preventing acts of violence, and ensuring peaceful coexistence for attendees. How does Mexico plan to prevent violence at sporting events? Chaired by world racquetball champion and now federal deputy for MC, Paola Michell Longoria López, the commission unanimously approved amendments to section VIII of article 41 and the first paragraph of article 98 Bis. This establishes that in promoting the mechanisms and actions aimed at preventing violence at sporting events and ensuring peaceful development at mass sporting events for entertainment purposes and in their immediate vicinity, the necessary security measures must be implemented. Furthermore, it guarantees the protection of the integrity and property of individuals, in coordination with the corresponding Public Security, Private Security, and Civil Protection authorities. It also stipulates that for the holding of mass sporting events or for entertainment purposes, the facilities where they are to be held, regardless of the source of funds used for their construction, must have the security measures, equipment, and civil protection established by laws and other applicable regulations. The bill considers that violence in sporting events represents a phenomenon that can put people's safety at risk and affect the peaceful development of these activities, so the State must promote prevention mechanisms and coordination among the different public and private security and civil protection authorities. It indicates that, therefore, the prevention of violence at these events must be strengthened, institutional coordination must exist, and it reaffirms the obligation to guarantee adequate safety conditions for attendees, without generating additional regulatory burdens or direct budgetary implications. The Commission also approved a Point of Agreement that requests the National Commission on Physical Culture and Sports, within the scope of its powers and based on article 140, section X, of the General Law on Physical Culture and Sports, to carry out and publish the National Statistics on Violence in Sports. The document states that the publication of the Statistics will contribute to strengthening the institutional prevention mechanisms, as well as promoting safe, inclusive, and violence-free sporting environments.