The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, presented to Congress two proposals to reform secondary laws that will define the process to elect judges by popular votescheduled for the middle of next year. This initiative arises after the controversial judicial reform of his predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who received criticism for putting the independence of the Judicial power.
According to Ernestina Godoy, legal advisor to the Government, The election of more than a thousand judges and magistrates will be carried out in two stages.
The first phase is scheduled for June 1, 2025 and will include the vote to select the ministers of the Supreme Court, the vacancies in the Electoral Court, the members of the Judicial Disciplinary Court, as well as federal and some state judges and magistrates.
The second phase, which will take place in 2027, will focus on the election of the rest of the judges.
To ensure the success of this process, the Government has proposed reforms to the Electoral Procedures and Means of Challenge laws, with the purpose of guaranteeing “legality”, “impartiality” and “transparency”, according to Godoy.
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These initiatives come to Congress at a time when the Supreme Court of Justice is considering a consultation on the controversial Judicial Reformwhich could generate tensions between the different powers of the State. Eight of the eleven ministers have decided to move forward with requests from federal judges for the Court to rule on the reform. In addition, a constitutional controversy presented by the opposition government of Guanajuato is being evaluated.
The judicial reform, enacted by López Obrador in the middle of last month, was criticized by experts and by the governments of the United States and Canada.who warned that the changes could put judicial independence and the balance of powers at risk.
Opponents of this reform argue that the election of judges by popular vote could favor candidates loyal to the party in power, many of whom would lack experience, allowing politicians and criminals to influence judicial decisions.
At the end of this month, the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches must form evaluation committees to select candidates for different positions. In February 2025, the lists of candidates who will participate in the elections will be defined.
After the presentation of the reforms, The president of the Senate, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, announced that the debate will begin on Wednesday. Given that the ruling party, Morena, and its allies have control of Congress, rapid approval of these reforms is anticipated.
With information from AP
EE