Ethnoracial Characteristics and Police Abuse Within Mexico's Criminal Justice System
2026-09-07
This study examines the association between ethnoracial characteristics (ethnoracial self‐identification, speaking an Indigenous language, and skin tone) and police abuse within Mexico's criminal justice system, drawing on street‐level bureaucracy frameworks. Using data from the 2021 National Survey of Persons Deprived of Liberty (ENPOL in Spanish), we analyze whether ethnoracial traits are conditionally associated with reported experiences of police abuse. Logistic regression models suggest that Afro‐Mexican or Afro‐descendant and Indigenous persons have higher odds of reporting abuse, supporting existing literature on discrimination and policing. Unexpectedly, speaking an Indigenous language and having darker skin tones were associated with lower reported abuse, suggesting a complex relationship that merits further examination. These results underscore the need to incorporate ethnoracial variables into the study of police behavior and public administration in Mexico, while informing public policies aimed at preventing and addressing police abuse to strengthen accountability within the criminal justice system.