In which countries is voting mandatory and what are the fines, such as those pointed out by Pablo Gómez in Mexico

After the Revocation of Mandate consultation, many readings have been given about this event in the Mexican political scene; however, one of them stood out among all and was that of the head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Pablo Gomez Alvarez.

And the fact is that the former federal deputy of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) assured that millions of Mexicans could face sanctions for abstaining from voting in the direct democracy exercise that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) underwent.

Through his official Twitter account, the official said that the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (CPEUM) establishes that voting is an obligation, so there could be political-electoral sanctions.

However, it was not the only thing, since it directly blamed the National Electoral Institute (INE) for not correctly informing the population about the obligation to participate in the consultation because it pointed out that it was against it.

Despite the position of the Morenista, international political analysis organizations such as The World Order (EOM) place Mexico with a country where suffrage is mandatory, but no sanctions are applied.

In addition to the above, there are nations around the world where voting represents an obligation and, in the event that a citizen decides not to exercise it, the laws establish some sanctions in order to avoid repetition of such conduct.

To date, there are 27 States that have marked it as an obligation for citizens to participate actively in every electoral process that is organized.

These are: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, North Korea, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, Gabon, Gracia, Honduras, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Nauru, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and Uruguay.

As can be seen from the above list, some Latin countries lead the nations that established this measure during the electoral processes, among which economic failures stand out.

For example, in Argentina, the National Electoral Code states that “a fine of between 50 and 500 pesos (that is, 8.84 to 88 Mexican pesos) shall be imposed on voters over 18 and under 70 years of age who cease to cast their vote and do not justify before the national electoral courts, within 60 days of the respective election.”

On the other hand, in Brazil, the Criminal and Electoral Code stipulates that the fine will be between 3 and 10% of the minimum wage depending on the region.

Meanwhile, in Peru, the fine for refraining from participating depends on the area in which the person is located, since the differentiation of districts between Non-Poor, Poor or Extreme changes costs ranging from 21.5 to 86 soles (from 115 to 460 Mexican pesos).

Another country that enters this list is Uruguay, since the Compulsory Voting Regulation Law establishes that the fine can range from 500 to 2,000 Uruguayan pesos (equivalent to between 242 and 968 Mexican pesos).

Finally, the case of Costa Rica is very similar to that of Mexico, because although suffrage is established as a duty, no sanctions apply to citizens who choose not to exercise it.

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