The president of the Supreme Court and seven other justices submitted letters of resignation this week. The only judges who have expressed interest in going to elections are those aligned with the current government.
Eight of the 11 judges of Mexico’s Supreme Court resigned in two days, due to a judicial reform that made Mexico the first country to elect all judges by popular vote.
The president of the Supreme Court, Norma Piña, and seven other people submitted letters of resignation on Tuesday and Wednesdaystating that they would resign rather than stand in the judicial elections scheduled for June 2025.
The only judges who expressed interest in Lenia Batres, Yazmín Esquivel and Loreta Ortiz, judges aligned with the current Government’s program, attend the elections.
The judges of the Supreme Court were previously selected by the parliament of Mexico.
Also on Wednesday, the lower house of the Parliament approved a new constitutional amendment that prevents Mexico’s justice system from suspending the application of recent modifications to the Constitutionincluding judicial reform.
The Supreme Court of Mexico planned to analyze in the coming days a complaint filed by the opposition, which denounced the unconstitutionality of the judicial reform.
HE judicial reform was approved by the previous head of state, Andrés Manuel López Obradorweeks before leaving power, on October 1.
During his mandate, Obrador accused the Mexican judicial system of being corrupt and serving only the economic interests of the elite, while more than 90% of crimes go unpunished in Mexico.according to non-governmental organizations.
The judicial reform establishes that judges who do not apply or are not elected will lose their right to a retirement pension, unless they resign before the end of the competition.
The new president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, stated this Tuesday that The dismissal of the judges is due to the desire to keep “a lot of money” from their retirement pensions.
The president of the Senate, the upper house of parliament, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, also suggested that the Judges refuse to participate in elections “to leave with full suitcases”.
Opponents believe that judicial reform will call into question the independence of judges and make them vulnerable to pressure from organized crime.
The United States, Mexico’s main trading partner, considered the reform “a risk” to Mexican democracy and “a threat” to bilateral trade relations, at a time when Mexico overtook China as its neighbor’s largest trading partner. north.
Multilateral organizations such as the United Nations and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, business organizations such as the International Chamber of Commerce and financial rating agencies such as Fitch and Moody’s have also warned about the negative repercussions for Mexico due to this reform.
Source: Observadora
