El principio de proporcionalidad en el derecho administrativo sancionador del transporte: análisis comparado entre Colombia y México en el marco del ODS 10

Abstract

Based on a comparative examination of Colombia and Mexico, this article studies the way in which proportionality operates within administrative sanctioning law in the transport sector, with particular attention to its effects on the predictability of the sanctioning response and on economic inequalities within the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 10. From a qualitative socio-legal approach, the study articulates dogmatic, comparative, and analytical hermeneutic tools, supported by legislation, specialized scholarship, judicial precedents, and sixteen administrative sanctioning decisions issued by the Superintendence of Transport in Colombia between 2022 and 2025. The findings show that, although sanctions are generally located in the lower range of the legal scale, they are not always accompanied by sufficient reasoning regarding the applied graduation criteria, which weakens the material realization of proportionality and creates tensions for legal certainty. In addition, sanctions of similar amount generate unequal economic burdens when imposed on subjects with different financial capacities, with particular impact on micro and small enterprises. The comparison shows that, in Colombia, proportionality finds its main expression in administrative reasoning, whereas in Mexico its consolidation has depended to a greater extent on judicial review. Therefore, its effective application goes beyond the merely formal sphere and operates as a material prerequisite for legality, due process, and regulatory fairness.