Janine Otálora calls for defending the autonomy of the Judiciary

On the “day for political and electoral rights,” Judge Janine Otálora Malassis called for defending the autonomy of the Judiciary, which prevents citizens’ rights from depending on the agendas of those who hold power.

“We must continue to support this autonomy, this independence of local electoral courts and of any court in general, in order to defend the rights of minorities and ensure a balance between the voice of the majority and the voice of minorities,” he said.

In front of electoral authorities, academics and people from historically excluded groups who attended the forum dedicated to the Public Electoral Defense, the magistrate of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation (TEPJF) said that in the face of attempts to affect the division of powers “we must all remain firm in this conviction that absolutely all of society and all the groups that comprise it have representation in the bodies that ultimately design public policies at the local and federal levels.”

Otálora Malassis has been identified in recent months for casting dissenting votes, either accompanied by Reyes Rodríguez or alone, such as when she voted against the internal processes of the parties – from which the presidential candidates emerged – considering them a simulation or fraud of the law, and also as the only one who spoke out against the assignment of proportional representation deputies that gave the qualified majority to Morena and allies.

She is also the only one – among the five judges who currently make up the Plenary of the Superior Chamber of the TEPJF – to indicate that she will not continue in office, despite the fact that the ongoing judicial reform provides that they can stay until 2027.

So far, the activities of the TEPJF, both in the Regional Chambers and the Superior Chamber, are proceeding normally, even though there are partial work stoppages in other areas of this same sector.

This Friday, Judge Otálora said in Guanajuato that the division of powers allows for maintaining “the delicate balance between majority decisions and minority guarantees.

He commented that the Electoral Court’s rulings on affirmative action demonstrate that our system of checks and balances prevents the abuse of power, particularly by political parties in the matter of candidacies, and also protects the rights of populations that have been discriminated against for centuries.

He pointed out that electoral justice cannot be a privilege that only benefits a small group of people.

In the last election on June 2, he said, thanks to the intervention of the Public Electoral Ombudsman, more than 26,000 people who were in preventive detention were able to vote; in addition, the TEPJF increased to 13 the number of districts in which the contest must be exclusively between indigenous candidates. In total, 70 deputies of the current legislature belong to historically excluded groups.