Biometric CURP: Justice for victims or citizen control?

The Senate approves the controversial reform that creates a mandatory CURP (National Identity Document) with a photo and fingerprints. Discover the dilemma: searching for missing persons versus everyone's privacy.

The Senate approved a sweeping reform to the Forced Disappearance Law, which establishes the creation of a mandatory biometric CURP (Currency Registry of Persons with Disappearances) for all Mexicans, sparking an intense national debate on the balance between the pursuit of justice and the risk of mass surveillance.

With 69 votes in favor, 28 against, and 5 abstentions, the Senate approved the initiative promoted by the Executive Branch, which will now go to the Chamber of Deputies for final discussion. The reform presents a central dilemma for Mexican society: is it acceptable to hand over sensitive personal data to the State in exchange for a tool that promises to help locate thousands of missing persons, or is it opening the door to an unprecedented system of surveillance?

The central argument of the government and majority legislators is that the reform will provide the State with crucial technological tools to address the disappearance crisis. The mechanism is based on two fundamental pillars:

• Mandatory Biometric CURP: The Unique Population Registry Code (CURP) will no longer be a simple alphanumeric code. It will become a national identification document that will contain, on a mandatory basis, a facial photograph, fingerprints, and other biometric data such as the iris.
• Single Identity Platform: A digital platform will be created that will integrate the new biometric CURP (National Identity Number) in real time with key databases, such as the National Registry of Missing Persons, the National Forensic Data Bank, and other administrative records.

The idea is that, when a person is reported missing, their CURP (National Identity Document) will trigger alerts throughout the system, allowing for continuous monitoring of any procedure or activity that may provide clues to their whereabouts. Furthermore, the reform incorporates demands from search groups, such as the recognition of "social family" and "social name," to include homeless people or those from the LGBTQ+ community.

The opposition in the Senate called the biometric CURP a "poisoned dart" and a legislative "Trojan horse." They argue that, under the noble cause of searching for the disappeared, a mechanism of control and surveillance is being implemented over the entire population.

"This isn't a law to search for missing persons; it's a law to monitor all of us. They respond to demands for justice with databases, biometric surveillance, and excessive use of personal information," a PAN senator declared during the debate.

The main concerns expressed by the opposition and civil society organizations such as the Network in Defense of Digital Rights (R3D) are:

• Privacy Risk: The concentration of biometric data from the entire population in a single government-managed database (through the SEGOB) creates a monumental risk of hacking and misuse of information.
• Political control: There are fears that the new CURP will replace the INE credential as an identification document, which would give the current government access to and control over electoral databases.
• Lack of safeguards: The reform does not establish clear checks and balances or citizen oversight mechanisms for the use of this highly sensitive information.

The position of the search groups, the most affected by the crisis, is divided and complex. While the government claims that the reform integrates its proposals after meetings at the National Palace, around 100 groups issued a statement rejecting the initiative.

Their criticisms focus on the fact that the law does not address the underlying problems:

• Lack of funding: They warn that a database is useless if there are no resources to conduct the DNA tests needed to identify the more than 70,000 bodies piling up in the country's morgues.
• It does not combat impunity: They point out that the reform focuses on identification, but does not strengthen investigations or guarantee that those responsible for disappearances are brought to justice.
• Simulation: Some groups feel that the meetings with the government were a "farce" and that the law was drafted "from the desk of power" without understanding their real needs.

The approval of this reform in the Senate is not the end, but rather the beginning of a broader social debate. Mexican society will have to weigh whether the potential advantages of this technological tool justify the risks inherent in centralizing each citizen's identity in the hands of the State.