Mexico’s New Anti-Corruption Framework

By: Carla Rios Carlos ChavezPublished on Apr/29/2017

As a result of the joint and persistent efforts between Mexico’s public and private sectors to establish a comprehensive and effective anti-corruption framework that could battle the widespread corrupt practices across most of the economic areas of the country, Mexico has progressively consolidated its National Anti-corruption System (the “Anti-corruption System”) introduced by the 2015 constitutional reform. Over the past decade, the Mexican government has continued to strengthen this framework through successive amendments aimed at improving all levels of government and private activity.

Before the 2015 constitutional reform and the enactment of the original legislative package in 2016, Mexico had a fragmented and unclear anti-graft legal framework, which in turn fostered a limited imposition of liabilities due to corrupt practices under the scope of the previous laws. The federal government's implementation of structural reforms in the energy, finance, and telecommunications sectors highlights the necessity for a stronger framework to combat corruption in the country.

The Mexican anti-corruption framework has undergone continuous refinement, with reforms introduced between 2020 and 2025 to modernize compliance standards, strengthen the role of enforcement institutions, and enhance transparency and digital oversight within the Anti-corruption System.

Below is a summary of the Mexican rules and regulations related to anti-corruption matters, which were introduced mostly with the original 2016 legislative package:

The Mexican anti- regulatory framework has three main pillars that outline the operation of the anti-corruption system, the distinct categories of administrative liabilities and the special courts that will handle the corruption cases. These pillars are: (i) the General Law of the National Anti-corruption System; (ii) the General Law of Administrative Liabilities; and (iii) the Organic Law of the Federal Court of Administrative Justice.I.- General Law of the National Anti-corruption System.

I.- General Law of the National Anti-corruption System.

The purpose of this law continues to serve as a guideline for the coordination within the Anti-corruption System of all the relevant authorities at the Mexican federal, state, and municipal levels of government. The law establishes the structure and responsibilities of the Anti-corruption System and reinforces the cooperation mechanisms among oversight bodies at different levels of government.

As part of the Anti-corruption System, the Coordinating Committee serves as the main body responsible for coordinating efforts among federal authorities, issuing public policy recommendations, and promoting preventive measures on anticorruption initiatives across the country. The agencies that have a seat in the Coordinating Committee are: (i) the Specialized Anti-graft Office; (ii) the Federal Administrative Court; (iii) the Federal Superior Audit Office; (iv) the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Public Information and Data Privacy Protection; (v) the Committee of Public Participation; (vi) the Federal Judicial Council; and (vii) the Ministry of Public Administration.

Additionally, the Committee of Public Participation plays an active role within the Anti-corruption System by promoting citizen involvement, transparency, and oversight of government integrity. At the same time, the National Digital Platform, one of the Anti-corruption System’s tools, has been strengthened through technological and regulatory updates between years 2022 and 2024. The platform integrates seven digital systems with key information on public procurement, public servants and sanctions, improving traceability and access to data across public institutions.

II.- General Law of Administrative Liabilities.

This law provides the control mechanisms for the fight against corruption inside and outside of the Mexican government, defines several obligations and liabilities for public servants, where they are required to submit and update their asset declarations, conflict of interest statements, and tax filings through the National Digital Platform. In that regard, the law also mandates the adoption of integrity and transparency protocols in all stages of public procurement and government contracting.

A catalogue of serious administrative violations by public servants is detailed within the General Law of Administrative Liabilities and includes any form of bribery, embezzlement, influence peddling, misuse of official information, collusion in public tenders, concealment of information and obstruction of investigations. Any private party associated with the perpetration of the aforementioned violations will be sanctioned accordingly.

In the case of individuals, penalties may include monetary fines, disqualification from holding public office, and compensation for damages. For legal entities, sanctions can include fines of up to twice the benefits obtained, temporary disqualification from public procurement, suspension of operations for up to three years, dissolution of the entity, and liability for damages.

The 2023-2025 reforms to the General Law of Administrative Liabilities strengthened enforcement mechanisms by expanding digital reporting requirements, enhancing the capacity of internal control bodies. Together, these updates aim to improve prevention, accountability, and institutional cooperation within the Anticorruption System. 

III.- Organic Law of the Federal Court of Administrative Justice.

The Federal Court of Administrative Justice, which operates under the Anti-corruption System, was created under this law back in 2016. In essence, this court oversees establishing the structure and jurisdiction of the court responsible for resolving administrative liability cases involving both public officials and private parties under the General Law of Administrative Liabilities, as detailed above.

The above mentioned are the three main pillars of the Mexican Anti-corruption framework; however, other laws contributing to this system are: (1) the Law of the Attorney General’s Office, which created and empowered the Specialized Anti-graft Office (part of the Coordinating Committee described above) that works under the scope of the Attorney General’s Office in the prevention and fight against corruption; (2) the Federal Criminal Code, which categorizes additional practices as corrupt crimes to be prosecuted by the federal authorities and standardizes them, to a certain extent, with the nature of the General Law of Administrative Liabilities; and (3) the Organizational Law of the Federal Public Administration, which empowers the role of the Ministry of Public Administration in preventing, investigating and sanctioning acts of corruption.

The reforms between 2023 and 2025 have strengthened the court’s autonomy, digital case management, and coordination with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. The Federal Court of Administrative Justice has also adopted electronic filing and virtual hearing mechanisms to improve transparency, reduce procedural delays, and promote accessibility to justice.

Additionally, the court plays a key role in the interpretation of administrative liability laws across the nation. Through established jurisprudential criteria and cooperation with state-level administrative courts, the law ensures the consistent application of anti-corruption standards nationwide.

Almost a decade after the 2016 reform, the Mexican government continues to fight against corrupt practices in the country, by continuing to review and amend the laws and other regulations related to anti-corruption matters, ensuring that all legal ordinances on the matter remain to date and in accordance with the current environment in the country.

At JATA, we remain committed to helping clients navigate Mexico’s evolving compliance landscape by providing legal and strategic advice to develop, assess, and implement effective anticorruption and integrity programs under Mexican law.

February 2026.

This article was originally written in 2016 by Carlos A. Chávez, and was updated and complemented in February 2026 by Carla A. Ríos. Please send any questions or comments to info@jata.mx. The original author of this note was a Senior Associate at JATA – J.A. Treviño Abogados, and the co-author who updated and complemented this article is an Associate at JATA and may be reached at crios@jata.mx. JATA is a Mexican firm with offices in Monterrey, Mexico and Houston, Texas.

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