SCJN invalidates Chiapas transparency regulations regarding parties and unions

The Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation declared the invalidity of normative portions of the Transparency and Access to Public Information Law and the Law for the Protection of Personal Data in Possession of Obligated Entities of the State of Chiapas, as well as, by extension, Article 100 of the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas. The resolution was issued in Constitutional Controversy 198/2025 and published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 (Publication No. 265/2026, pages 84 to 98).

The ruling was approved by a unanimous vote of nine in the session of March 9, 2026, with Minister María Estela Ríos González as the rapporteur and Eduardo Manuel Méndez Sánchez as secretary. The lawsuit was promoted by the head of the Legal Counsel of the Federal Executive Branch through a written submission presented on August 6, 2025, against the norms issued via Decree 276, published in the Official Gazette of Chiapas on June 18, 2025.

What was invalidated

The Plenary Court declared the invalidity of the following normative portions:

• Article 3, fraction IV, of the Transparency and Access to Public Information Law of Chiapas, in the portion that attributed competence to the Institute of Elections and Citizen Participation regarding political parties, political groupings, and independent candidacies, and to the Courts Specialized in Bureaucratic Matters and the Labor Conciliation Center of the State of Chiapas regarding trade unions.
• Article 34, fractions III, IV, and V, of the same law.
• Article 3, fraction II, of the Law for the Protection of Personal Data in Possession of Obligated Entities of Chiapas, in the portion referring to the Institute of Elections and Citizen Participation as it pertains to political parties.

Furthermore, to give full effect to the resolution, Article 100, eleventh paragraph, of the local Constitution—reformed by a decree published on May 28, 2025—was invalidated by extension, along with various articles of both laws, including articles 2, 3, 6, 19, 74, 75, 78, 166, and 179 of the transparency law, and articles 2, 3, and 130 of the personal data law.

Competencies that remain with the Federation

The Court concluded that the Congress of the State of Chiapas lacked the competence to create and regulate local guaranteeing bodies with powers over access to information and the protection of data held by political parties and trade unions, including local ones. This criterion is based on articles 6, 41, fraction I, 73, fraction XXIX-S, and 123 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, as well as article 3, fraction V, of the General Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information.

The protection of these rights is reserved for federal authorities:

• National Electoral Institute, for national and local political parties, including review appeals.
• Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registration, for access to public information of trade unions.
• Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Court, for trade unions of state employees.

The design derives from the constitutional reform regarding organic simplification, published on December 20, 2024, which suppressed the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data and redistributed those functions.

Effects and votes

The declaration of invalidity has general effects and will take effect upon notification of the operative points to the Congress of the State of Chiapas. The resolution must also be published in the Official Gazette of the entity and in the Federal Judicial Weekly and its Gazette.

The matter was resolved by a unanimous vote of nine Ministers: Herrerías Guerra, Espinosa Betanzo, Ríos González, Esquivel Mossa, Batres Guadarrama, Ortiz Ahlf, Figueroa Mejía, Guerrero García, and President Aguilar Ortiz. Ministers Espinosa Betanzo and Aguilar Ortiz announced separate concurring votes; Batres Guadarrama dissented from the invalidity regarding the extension of article 100 of the local constitution, and Ortiz Ahlf formulated additional considerations. The concurring vote of Espinosa Betanzo was published along with the judgment.

The ruling closes Chiapas’ attempt to assume, via local legislation, the oversight of transparency for parties and unions, and confirms that this function corresponds exclusively to federal instances. For parties, unions, and state authorities across the country, the criterion implies that no entity can replicate this scheme: requests and review appeals in these matters must be directed to the INE, the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registration, or the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Court, depending on the obligated subject.

Source: Official Gazette of the Federation, Publication No. 265/2026, Wednesday, September 30, 2026, pp. 84-98 (official reference: Constitutional Controversy 198/2025).