Protection Mechanism’s Functioning May Be Hindered by Lack of Budget

The Protection Mechanism is in a state of uncertainty due to the government’s failure to apportion appropriate resources. In September the Protection Mechanism was notified that the government had authorized only 75 million pesos ($3,721,990) of the 126 million ($6,252,944) that the Mechanism had requested in order to be able to work through the end of this year. According to Atziri Ávila, a member of the consultative council of the Mechanism and coordinator of the National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders, the administration of incoming president Andrés Manuel López Obrador should designate at least 500 million pesos annually to the Mechanism to ensure the protection of the 750 human rights defenders and journalists served by it. The Mechanism has suffered significant budget cuts since 2016, when the government reduced its budget by 77 percent compared to the previous year’s allocation.

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