Mexico enacted a controversial constitutional reform on Sunday that makes it the first country in the world to implement popular election of all judges, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced.
López Obrador, with President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum as an honorary witness, signed the decree on judicial reform, to elect judges by popular vote, for publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF).
“I am going to sign the decree for the publication of the reform to the Constitution with the purpose of improving the Judiciary, because we need justice to reach everyone, so that there is no corruption in the Judiciary,” López Obrador said in a video from the National Palace published on social media.
“I am going to sign the decree for the publication of the reform to the Constitution with the purpose of improving the Judiciary, because we need justice to reach everyone, so that there is no corruption in the Judiciary,” López Obrador said in a video from the National Palace published on social media.
“We are going to sign this initiative to reform the Judicial Branch, we are going to sign it on this historic day – September 15, Mexico’s Independence Day – it has to be published. It has already been approved in the Chamber of Deputies, in the Chamber of Senators and in the majority of local (state) legislatures, as the Constitution itself demands,” the president added hours before the Grito de Independencia.
He recalled that the Mexican Constitution “also establishes that the head of the Executive must publish this reform, which is what we are doing on this day, September 15, 2024,” he said, and then signed the decree with Sheinbaum as a witness.
The president’s video was released at the same time as the digital publication in the DOF, which disclosed the 14 reforms, six additions and three repeals made to 23 articles of the Constitution, which establish, among other provisions, the election of judges, magistrates and ministers at the polls.
Former President Zedillo: Justice “at the service of the political force in power”
Former Mexican President (1994-2000), Ernesto Zedillo, said on Sunday that the reform of the Judiciary seeks to destroy its independence in order to put it at the service of the political force in power.
Zedillo was in charge of giving the opening speech at the International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference, which will take place from September 15 to 20 in Mexico City.
The former president warned at the beginning of his speech and criticized the aforementioned reform that put “on hold” his 24-year determination not to speak about Mexico’s internal politics.
Zedillo pointed out in his speech that “the frustration of the president (Andrés Manuel López Obrador) at not having a submissive Court has evolved into a brutal revenge: the destruction of the independence and integrity of the Judiciary so that it is at the service of the political force in power.”
Last Friday, the reform of the Judicial Branch in Mexico was declared constitutional in the Mexican Congress and only its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) remained for it to come into effect.
Declaration of constitutionality
The declaration of constitutionality was announced first in the Mexican Senate and then in the Chamber of Deputies, in both cases within a few minutes, with the approval of the pro-government “supermajorities” in both chambers and as of Sunday it had the support of 25 legislatures in 32 states.
The opposition did not attend either event, following the rejection of the reform, which they described as a step backwards for democracy and judicial independence, as well as for the balance of powers and the possible interference of “interest groups.”
The action took place in parallel with attempts by employees of the Federal Judicial Branch (PJF) and at least 1,200 judges in the country to stop this reform by resorting to national and international bodies.
Multilateral organizations such as the United Nations and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR); business organizations such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC); rating agencies such as Fitch and Moody’s, as well as the U.S. government have warned of repercussions for Mexico due to this reform, including panels and arbitrations within the framework of trade agreements such as the USMCA.
Also on Friday, a judge in the western Mexican state of Colima ordered a suspension to stop the promulgation of the reform in the DOF, despite the fact that López Obrador, the main promoter of the reform, announced that it would be made official this Sunday, when the country commemorates Independence Day.
According to the transitional regime, the extraordinary electoral process 2024-2025 will begin on Monday, the election of which will take place on the first Sunday of June 2025, to elect all the ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), the vacant magistrates of the Superior Chamber and all the magistrates of the regional chambers of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation (TEPJF)
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