Background Briefing: Mexico

Despite positive movement toward the consolidation of political freedoms, human rights violations in Mexico continue to be extremely serious. State and federal police and members of the army continue to engage in torture, arbitrary detention, and other widespread abuses. Prosecutors frequently accept such abuses and judges often fail to question them. In the field of labor rights, in the maquiladora sector, female job seekers are subject to routine forced pregnancy testing. Moreover, the Mexican government still refuses to undertake a much-needed, comprehensive approach to resolving these institutionalized problems.