The most efficient way that any individual or corporation has to defend its right from authorities (of any level, municipal, state or federal) abuses is through the Amparo procedure. This procedure consists of requesting a Federal Judge to “protect” the plaintiff from such actions and leave them without any effect.

The Amparo procedure aims to protect the fundamental rights granted by the Mexican Constitution in benefit of the individuals and force the defendants to comply.

The following scenarios are examples on when to file an Amparo procedure:

• Tax collections on every level. E.g. property tax.
• An asset of yours is up for auction in a procedure in which you were not given any notice and did not have the chance to defend yourself.
• The government wants to expropriate your property or they did it without giving you a chance to be part of the procedure.
• You requested something from an authority and they did not answer back.
• You lost an appeal in a civil or commercial lawsuit and want to fight the resolution.
• You lost an agrarian procedure and want to fight the resolution.
• You lost a labor procedure and want to fight the resolution.
• You lost and administrative or Tax procedure and want to fight the resolution.
• Your property is in danger because an Ejido or Community is claiming that it belongs to them or they want to pay you below commercial value for it.

There are hundreds of examples of when to use the Amparo procedure, but the above should give you a general idea of what it is for.

The Amparo procedure is highly specialized and requires a lot of knowledge, which is why not every attorney can manage it. It is important that you are certain that the attorney or Firm taht you are hiring knows this area of practice in order to properly represent you.