Overview
Tlaxcala criminalises perceived ‘exposure’ and actual transmission of diseases.
The state Penal Code criminalises under Article 302 anyone who knows that they are living with a serious disease and who “endangers the health of another” by any means, carrying a penalty of three to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 216 to 360 days. In the case of incurable illnesses, the penalty is raised to three to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of 216 to 720 days.
The provision also allows for supervision during the infectious period in an appropriate institution.
Article 232 criminalises anyone who causes another to suffer harm which results in an incurable illness with a penalty of three to ten years’ imprisonment and fine of 216 to 720 days.
In March 2024, activists called on legislators to reform HIV laws in Tlaxcala, and presented a draft initiative in the plenary of the local Congress that would repeal Article 302. In November 2024, a bill was presented by Congresswoman Aurora Villeda Temoltzin before the plenary of the State Congress, which would repeal Article 302 as well as Article 434(v) which lists Article 302 as a ‘serious crime meriting preventative detention’.
Laws
Código Penal para el Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala
Chapter I – Spreading Hazard
Article 302
Anyone who, knowing that he suffers from a serious illness in an infectious period, endangers the health of another, by any transmissible means, will be sentenced to three to five years in prison and a fine of two hundred and sixteen to three hundred and sixty days of salary, without prejudice to the judicial authority determining their care or surveillance in a suitable establishment until the infecting period ends. In the case of an incurable disease, a penalty of three to ten years in prison and a fine of two hundred and sixteen to seven hundred and twenty days’ salary will be imposed.
Código Penal para el Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala
Chapter II – Injuries
Article 232
To anyone who causes damage or alteration to the health of another, the following will be imposed:
(…)
VII. From three to ten years in prison and a fine of two hundred sixteen to seven hundred twenty days of salary, if they cause the loss of any organic function, a member, an organ or a faculty or cause an incurable disease or an incorrigible deformity.
Acknowledgements
Our thanks to la Red Mexicana de Organizaciones contra la criminalización del VIH for their research assistance to confirm current relevant legislation.
HIV Justice Network's Positive Destinations
Visit the Tlaxcala page on Positive Destinations for information on regulations that restrict entry, stay, and residency based on HIV-positive status, as well as access to HIV treatment for non-nationals.
