Criminal Justice and Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) · 4.1 Proportionality in Prosecution

Partially meets the criterion.

Mexico has a constitutional and legal framework recognizing the right to adequate legal defense and establishing public free-defense services in criminal matters. Article 20 of the Constitution provides procedural defense guarantees, while the Federal Public Defender Law regulates institutional provision of free legal representation.

INEGI operational evidence confirms the existence of public-defense units, personnel, resources, and operation of the federal and state public-defense systems. However, no national disaggregated data were located to verify coverage, timeliness, quality of representation, and procedural outcomes specifically for people accused of drug offences. Therefore, the criterion is partially met: a legal and institutional public-defense framework exists, but specific evidence of effective access and quality representation in drug-related cases remains missing.