The new Anti Money Laundering Law forbids cash transactions up to certain amounts

-       It regulates the activates that could be financed with resources coming from  criminal actions, usually known as “money laundering”

-       It establishes penalties to people performing “Vulnerable Activities” without notifying that to the authority.

-       The meaning of Vulnerable Activity is wide, and related to the usual or professional services connected to gambling, betting, financial services, prepaid services, construction, development, precious metals and precious stones trading, auctions, vehicles selling, armored vehicles selling, custody and transportation of money, rendering of professional services, cash management, investment and incorporation services. Only when these activities surpasses the minimum established. Depending on the activities, there are different amounts mentioned as the minimum required. As in example, for precious metals the minimum is 20,000 pesos, for auctions is 300,000 pesos,

-       When a person falls into the Vulnerable Activity hypothesis, this person will have to send a written notice of this activity to the Federal Tax Authority.

-       The information provided to the authority is related to the type of transaction, the parties involved, personal information of the parties and information related to the transaction.

-       It is important to mention that this law clarifies that when it comes to Vulnerable Activities, no one can argue the “banking secrecy principle”

-       High penalties to those not complying with it.

-       Payments with cash, precious metals and precious stones are forbidden when the transaction’s amount surpasses certain amount.

-       Public Notaries, Sellers, Intermediaries and in general, people involved in these transactions will have the obligation of notify these activities to the authorities.

-       Management and use of this information, by the authorities, is reserved and limited to the investigation and prosecution of resources coming from illicit means.

As any other law, it will take some time until we see it in practice, its success will depend on the Authority’s follow up and revision faculties. If you want to read the complete law (in Spanish), you can download it here: http://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5273403&fecha=17/10/2012

Ministry of Interior Alejandro Poiré, announcing the publication.

The truth is that the Migration Law is beneficial in most aspects to foreigners. Even when some NGOs have claimed that these law and it’s regulations required a deeper insight in the migratory phenomenon in Mexico, with special emphasis on immigrants coming to Mexico temporarily to make their way until the USA. This law and it’s regulation is somewhat of a small advance in the migration problem solution, there is still a lot to do, though.

A lot of changes are going to happen in the following weeks, on one side the new Federal Administration is taking place on December 1^st, 2012, a lot of personnel changes in the INM’s (National Institute of Migration in Spanish) are expected. We hope that next Commissioner of this institute will be a person with a lot of knowledge and experience in the field. Not as in the Mexican Congress, where the Senate, appointed brand new Senator Ana Gabriela Guevara (A former Olympic medalist, retired from competitions in 2008), as its new President. This, of course, caused a lot of critics, due to her inexperience and lack of knowledge of the migratory problem.

It is also important to mention that, as clarified by the Ministry of Interior, this law and its regulation, does not change anything related to the visa policy that the Mexican Government has had during the last years, that is, citizens from countries requiring visa to enter Mexico, still require it. The only difference in these cases will be in the procedures.

But why do I say it is, in general terms, beneficial to all foreigners? There are several reasons; most of them have to do with long process, corruption and yearly renewals. All foreigners that have spent a few years in Mexico and that are reading this, will perfectly understand how upsetting and what a loose of time is to perform any type of application before the INM. Below, a few comments on some positive changes:

-       No person, including Government Officials, is authorized to require foreigners to demonstrate their legal status. Only INM officials are authorized to do this and in some concrete cases, the Federal Police when acting in coordination with the INM.

-       It gives special importance to Human Rights and peruses the family union. Having a Mexican child or a Mexican spouse or even a person to whom the Foreigner lives and has a personal tide with, will be sufficient reason to authorize a legal status (though the regulations explain this only as a “woman – man relationship”, it does not say anything about same sex couples).

-       Improves efficiency and honesty among Migratory Officials by implementing a very precise selection process that includes “confidence tests” and tough penalties to those failing to accomplish this new regulation.

-       It makes a clear difference between visas and migratory documents, which in big terms, visa will be a document issued abroad, while the migratory document is issued in Mexico.

-       The expiration of the migratory documents and the visas will depend more on the type of legal condition granted. There will be documents that will be valid for one year and up to ten years.

-       Owning real estate, a trust (tied to real estate) or having an investment in Mexico is a big reason to obtain a visa or a migratory document.

-       Implements a scoring system, which will serve to those foreigners looking for the Permanent Resident status and whom don’t accomplish the requirements to obtain it by accomplishing different possibilities. Each possibility will give some “points” to the foreigner, and when a certain amount of points is reached, the foreigner will be able to access the permanent status.

-       Timeframe for migratory document process is 20 working days.

-       Timeframe for visas is 10 working days.

-       Wider limits to perform legal activities in Mexico.

-       Transition from old law to new law is better explained and people holding valid FM3 (Documento de No Inmigrante) will be able to move to a Temporary Resident status and people holding FM2 (Documento de Inmigrante), depending on the exact type, will be able to move to Temporary or Permanent Resident.

There is still a lot to learn from these new regulations, and we still need to know the so-called “guidelines” to understand better the criteria followed by the authority. All in all we can say it will make things better and easier for Foreigners.

A few moments after the property was vacated.

This congregation is conformed by religious catholic women who decided to give their lives not only to God, but also to their mission of providing shelter and protection to other women who are victims of domestic violence and ignorance. Like many organizations, this one lives on donations from people who sympathize with their cause, and unfortunately as in many cases, these donations are not always enough and there are times where livelihoods becomes a daily problem. Given these circumstances, seeking help to resolve their squatter problem became complicated and was not a priority.

Since our firm doesn’t do criminal law, at first we were reluctant to take it and thought about the possibility of referring them to someone else, unfortunately the culture of pro bono work is unknown in the area and we couldn’t find anyone willing to take this case at no cost. Given the great work that these women do, we were morally forced, to offer everything that was in our hands and resources to help them to solve their problem, so we immediately started the legal procedure by submitting the corresponding complaint before the District Attorney, and now these kind women were our clients.

Although we knew that justice would be eventually in our side, we were also aware that it would be a slow and costly procedure, so regardless of the legal actions, we decided to negotiate. We began to have some communication with the squatters and as the days passed, we established some sort of a good relationship with them. In the end, the negotiation was our best weapon, though they had committed a crime and although we had submitted our compliant, we decided to focus on finding an amicable and peaceful solution, by offering legal certainty to all the parties involved.

In January we finally reached an agreement, which on one side recognized their needs, by allowing them to live for three months more in the property, while at the end of that period, they should peacefully vacate it. The squatters honored their word and left by their own feet, most important of all, they understood that what they did was against the law, but you can always rectify and everybody is happy. Playa del Carmen soon will have a new support center for women and Calderón & Associates is proud to have contributed to make this happen for the sake of a better future for our beautiful community.

The marriage rules and the management of vital records is a local faculty, so that each State’s Office has its own civil code and it’s own vital records. The Federal District (Mexico City), although not a state, by constitutional provision allows it’s legislature to regulate civil matters and operate it’s own vital records office. Based on these ideas is that Mexico City was undertaken in 2010 to reform its civil code language that would speak more of “people” rather than “men” and “women”, were also made some adjustments to the Civil Registry certificates and in general all the ground was prepared to initiate such unions in a harmonious and consistent way, through a process that required time, discussions and a lot of study for implementation.

Quintana Roo was in a different situation, for years, there have been voices that rising up to ask to allow same-sex-marriages in this state, not only for the respect and recognition of the civil liberties of people equally, but also must be said, for the economic flow that these unions can bring to the state, considering the natural tourism vocation of Quintana Roo.

The Civil Code of Quintana Roo is one of the most recent of the country, dating from 1980. When developed, the local congressmen tried to integrate some new ideas and trends that existed at that time; however, the work was not entirely harmonious, the legislature on the one hand tried to be innovative and on the other, copied literally, a large number of articles of the Federal Civil Code in force in those years, so that this legislative technique favored same gender marriages. Thus, the local code contains requirements that the man must comply with and on the other side, requirements that must meet the woman must comply with for marriage, but nowhere states that the marriage has to be between a man and a woman.

So why have there never been same sex marriages before? Perhaps because no one tried before or those who tried were met with refusal by the authorities. Thus a group of people formed by two same-sex couples wishing to marry each other, lawyers, activists and pro gay and lesbian organizations took on the endeavor of enacting the first record of a marriage between two persons of the same sex and held by an authority of Quintana Roo.

How did they do it? Apparently the couple completed the application process for their marriage in compliance with all requirements of law, although their application was rejected or not even accepted at least twice. Then they tried again in the municipality of Lázaro Cárdenas, invoking the legal principle that states “the governed can do anything that is not prohibited” in accordance with article 1st of the Mexican Constitution which prohibits discrimination against people because of their gender and their preferences, in addition to the penalties imposed by the local criminal law for those who commit acts of discrimination. Obviously all these rules were already there, just needed someone to put them together, make use of them and find an authority with a legal criterion broad enough to understand, accept and process a request of this type.

For the relevance of this theme, the celebration of these marriages was hardly announced and somewhat surprising, we have to remember that Quintana Roo is an entity where legislators recently decided that anyone who commits abortion should be punished and treated like a murderer, making it difficult to believe that legislators and authorities with this type of criterion will so easily accept marriages between same sex persons. The truth is that the first two records are there and a road on this subject has been started to be built, but there is still a long way to go. It will be interesting reactions and statements of authorities, public characters and social groups in the next few days on this topic. For now, congratulations to the new spouses and let’s hope that the discussions to come flow in an environment of respect, tolerance and solid and intelligent arguments.

Official documents are usually valid only in the country in which they were issued, because other countries don´t have any reliable way of verifying that the issuing authority is legitimate. The major exception to this rule is the passport, which is issued following international guidelines and is therefore recognized internationally.

In order to facilitate international interaction, the Hague Convention on International Law in 1961 created a system which allows countries to authenticate a document for use on foreign soil. It is the “Apostille”, which comes from the French word for note, and it is nothing more than an added note to your official document certifying the authenticity of the issuing authority.

It is important to consider that the apostille doesn´t actually authenticate the document itself, it just authenticates the issuing authority´s stamp, seal, signature, etc. If you are apostilling a birth certificate, the apostille doesn´t authenticate the certificate, it authenticates the Department of Human Record´s seal; if you get college transcripts apostilled, you aren´t authenticating the transcripts, you are authenticating that they were issued by the school; if you apostille a notarized power of attorney, you aren´t authenticating the power of attorney, just the notary´s signature.

Not all countries in the world are members of the agreement, so in those countries the process is a little different, the issuing country and the receiving country must certify the document, which can take forever. Here is a list of the member nations.

Assuming that the nation who issued the document that you want apostilled is a member of the Convention, you will have to find out what process is needed for the document to be authenticated. The first step is to contact the State Department, Department of the Exterior, Foreign & Commonwealth Office or the corresponding authority for the issuing nation. Usually I go to the country´s website and perform a search for “Apostille”, with a little digging I have always been able to find the proper authority. For you Americans, I will make it easy for you: you should go to the state-level Secretary of State for most apostilles.

It is important to read the requirements for the apostille according to the country that issues it: I got a birth certificate apostilled a couple of years ago, the State that issued it required that it be a new birth certificate of a certain type, so I had to first write a letter to the dept. of public records explaining what type of birth certificate I needed and then later had to send the certificate to the Department of State for apostille.

The Mexican Federal Government’s compromise to modernize immigration policy and improve the situation of immigrants in Mexico has fallen to the wayside, or at least that is the impression given by its noncompliance with the decree published on May 25th, 2011 that promulgated, among other laws, the Immigration Law, whose THIRD provisional article signals that “Within the term of one hundred and eighty days counted from the day that the present law enters into effect, the Federal Executive will expedite the Regulations to the Migration Law…”. The said term expired November 21st, 2011, yet at the date of this writing, November 25th, there has been no public proclamation by the Ministry of the Interior or the National Immigration Institute about the said regulations.

On September 27th, 2011, by means of a bulletin, the Ministry of the Interior informed that proposals and concerns for consideration before the elaboration of the project of the regulations for the recently approved Immigration Law, where formally solicited. The same bulletin states that the proposals for the regulations where accepted until September 19th, 2011. The truth is that many organizations related to the immigration theme were never consulted, such as the case of the Task Force on Immigration Law and Policy, a group of more than 10 organizations dealing with the topic.

At the end of October of 2011 many major news services published a Notimex interview with the director of the National Immigration Institute’s Center for Migratory Studies, Ernesto Rodriguez, stating that at the end of November the regulations of the new Migration Law should be ready. As of the day of this day, there has been no publication and the Immigration Institute’s personnel don’t appear to know anything about the subject.

The Federal Government announced with much fanfare the new era in immigration policy and the virtues of the new law, but shouldn’t its manner of showing it’s compromise have been doing it’s job and publishing the regulations months ago, instead of waiting until the end of the period given by the law? The law that structures the organization of the Federal Public Administration and the Constitution directly hold the Minister of the Interior and the head of the Federal Executive Branch, the President of the Republic, responsible. These authorities could be compelled to comply with the law; however, forced compliance through legal means would, in a country who’s laws give more importance to formality than substance, be extremely impractical.

Lets hope that the Federal Government will soon announce something on the subject, otherwise, this author invites society to raise it’s voice to compel the government to comply with the decree published on May 25th, 2011.

What is “El Buen Fin”?

The idea of “El Buen Fin” was created as a private initiative to enforce the economic activity in Mexico during a long weekend in November of each year. The initiative was presented through a program created by some of the most important media networks of Mexico, in a “reality show” style in 2010 that prompted Mexican society to present their social projects. This program is called “Iniciativa México (Mexico Initiative)” and it was so successful that by 2011 it would be repeated.

When is “El Buen Fin”?

“El Buen Fin” was placed in November to give movement and vigor to a time of the year where the Mexican economy is slow and in which Mexicans are accustomed to expect the Christmas campaign season. This idea emulates, in some way, the famous “Black Friday” of the United States, while this day represents the highest trade flow from that country, and it is when traders show their best offers and the biggest discounts throughout the year, who happens to take place in the same week in which occurs the “Thanksgiving Day”, which results in a day of unparalleled offerings for a week of rest and family reunion.

“El Buen Fin” falls on the weekend before Revolution Day

In Mexico we do not have Thanksgiving Day, but on November 20th, we celebrate the anniversary of our revolution of 1910, which in recent years was officially moved for its commemoration to the third Monday of November of each year, which according to the Federal Labor Law, this is a mandatory day off. El Buen Fin, according to their organizers and the Federal Government, will last four days, i. e. from the 18th to 21st of November. This is the first year that El Buen Fin takes place in Mexico, advertising in the media has been abundant and apparently there are many traders who have joined this project, offering significant discounts on their goods, it should be noted that this program is supported by various business chambers and associations, including the ANTAD, an association that gathers 100 of the major retail chains in Mexico.

“El Buen Fin” is a collaboration between the federal government and private industry

“El Buen Fin” program is not mandatory for anyone; however, some employers and different levels of government have decided to support this program in a different way. For example, the federal government recently announced that they would pay in advance part of the “Aguinaldo (Christmas Bonus)” for federal bureaucrats so that they have cash during this weekend and can “take advantage” of El Buen Fin offers. Some private companies have decided to do the same, however, we have noted the concern of some companies regarding the advanced payment of the Aguinaldo if this would be contrary to law. In fact, the Federal Labor Law on Article 87 refers only to the deadline to pay this benefit, which is the December 20th, of each year, so yes, they can forward the payment of this benefit without any problem.

“El Buen Fin” might be the economic stimulus that Mexico needs

Hopefully El Buen Fin is successful, unfortunately it comes at a time when the Mexican economy, and global, goes through a complicated time, coupled with this, we are starting to hear some offers from some banks encouraging people to spend and purchase products with their credit cards and with monthly payments without interests or with very low interests. It might have been a good idea that part of the program would consist of people paying only with cash or debit card, that is, that people only spend what they have, otherwise, taking into consideration the complicated times we are going trough, El Buen Fin has the danger of becoming the day in which many buyers sold their souls to the banking system.

It should be noted that there are special rules for domestic workers, such as gardeners, maids and nannies working in a private home. Some of the benefits mentioned in this article are not given to domestic workers by law.

LABOR BENEFITS (According to the Mexican Labor Law)

Individual labor contracts can include as many labor benefits as the employer wishes; however, they cannot bestow any fewer benefits than the law allows. Before initiating a labor relationship, it is important to keep these benefits in mind:

• Shift (number of hours in the work day)
• Time off (rest periods during the work day and days off)
• Vacations
• Vacation bonus (a bonus for the worker during their vacation days)
• Year-end bonus (a payment at the end of the year additional to the salary)
• Training

These benefits are obligatory for all employers and cannot be waived or transferred by the employee. All of these benefits are mentioned in and based on the Federal Labor Law.

SHIFT

In accordance with the law, shifts can be designated day shift (during the period between 6:00am and 8:00pm), night shift (during the period between 8:00pm and 6:00am) or mixed. The maximum of hours that can be worked on day shift is 8 hours and for night or mixed shift the maximum is 7 hours. The shift cannot be modified except by mutual agreement and in cases of extreme hazard.

TIME OFF

In continuous shifts a break of at least 30 minutes should be granted with pay. For every 6 days of work the employee should receive at least one day off, preferably Sunday. In the case that the employee works Sunday, he or she has a right to an additional 25% of his pay. In addition, the legally mandated holidays are:

1. January 1st
2. The first Monday in February
3. The third Monday in March
4. May 1st
5. September 16th
6. The third Monday in November
7. December 25th

December 1st is a holiday every sixth year when the President of the Republic takes office, as well as the dates that are stipulated in State or Municipal laws for local election days.

VACATIONS

The minimum vacation period given to a worker is six working days, once they have completed their first year of work and this period will be increased by two days every subsequent year of work, until reaching a maximum of 12 days. Vacation must be granted within the six months following the date in which the employee completed a year of work.

VACATION BONUS

The additional payment of 25% of the wages that correspond to vacation pay must be paid when the employee takes their vacation.

YEAR END BONUS

This is a payment additional to wages that must be made at the latest the 20th of December of each year and must be at least the equivalent of 15 days of wages proportionate to the number days that the employee worked during the year (if the employee only worked 30 days then they receive 30/365 * 15 days wages).

TRAINING

Training is obligatory and must be carried out during working hours and in accordance with certain programs. The law is not clear as to what the minimum training must be.

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

In addition to all this, employees have a right to profit sharing, referring to a part of the profit that the employer received during the year and that must be distributed between the workers based on each worker’s wages and days worked.

As well, there are benefits such as seniority and the seniority bonus that each employee receives based on the amount of time that they have worked for the same employer and that must be paid at the moment that the employment relationship is terminated work or upon the death of the employee.

The employer also must, in addition to wages, pay every month into the fund for employee health care and pension (IMSS), every two months into the Federal Government’s fund for employee housing (INFONAVIT) and pay into a separate investment fund for the employee’s retirement(AFORE).