Mexico’s Mental Health Reform: A Global Breakthrough in Ending Coercive Psychiatry

On May 16, 2022, Mexico enacted a transformative reform of its Ley General de Salud that brings national legislation into full alignment with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This reform is a milestone for global disability rights and offers a concrete legislative precedence for

Why This Reform Matters for Human Rights Advocacy
•     Coercive practices are explicitly prohibited
The law bans seclusion, mechanical restraint, chemical restraint, and any practice considered cruel, inhuman, or degrading. This language directly reflects the standards of the UN Convention Against Torture.
•     Involuntary treatment and detention are to be eliminated
All psychiatric interventions require free and informed consent. There is no legal basis for involuntary admission or forced treatment.
•     Legal capacity is fully recognized
The reform mandates supported decision‑making, rejecting substitute decision‑making regimes that have long been criticized as discriminatory under the CRPD.
•     Institutional coercive models are to be dismantled
Psychiatric hospitals must be phased out or transformed into community‑based services, shifting the system toward inclusion and social participation.

Opportunities for NGOs
This reform provides a unique opportunity to:
•     Highlight a national‑level implementation of CRPD standards
•     Advocate for similar reforms in other countries
•     Support Mexico in ensuring effective implementation
•     Strengthen global campaigns against coercive psychiatric practices
•     Promote alternatives based on full consent, respecting individual rights

Recommended Actions for NGOs
•     Issue public statements welcoming the reform
•     Request meetings with Mexican authorities to discuss implementation (What about a convention with the Mexican embassy and involve other countries too?)
•     Include Mexico’s reform in international reports and submissions to UN bodies
•     Organize webinars or briefings to disseminate the legal model
•     Support local civil society groups monitoring compliance

A Model for Global Reform
Mexico’s legislation demonstrates that a mental health system without coercion is not only possible but already legally achieved. It provides a concrete template for countries seeking to replace coercive psychiatric systems with rights‑based, community‑oriented approaches to abolish all coercive psychiatric practices.
The new federal law is published in Spanish here:  https://mexico.justia.com/federales/leyes/ley-general-de-salud/titulo-tercero/capitulo-vii/
Please use an AI tool of your choice to translate the new law into your language and explain what it means for the collapse of coercive psychiatry. I did that and the result is published in German here:  https://www.zwangspsychiatrie.de/2026/02/mexiko-zwangspsychiatrie-ist-folter/
To translate this website you can use the automatic translation programm offering 16 languages in the right corner and the third of the top lines.

Since torture –   according to human rights – is always prohibited everywhere without exception, without consideration, without “ultima ratio,” all psychiatric coercive measures are also prohibited in your country.  Please use every possibility to spread this news.

Best regards,
rene talbot
(Secretary of IAAPA and member of the board of a national German survivor organization)