Mexicans will elect their judges for the first time next year at the voting booths. They have a difficult task ahead. In Mexico City, voters must choose judges for over 150 positions, including on the Supreme Court, from a list of 1,000 candidates that most people don’t know. Each voter will need 45 minutes just to fill out the ballot papers if there are no solutions like dividing judges into subdistricts. Even with solutions, voters will still have to choose from many unknown names.
A left-wing nationalist president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, aims to overhaul the state branch that has blocked his plans in the past. Mexico’s congress, controlled by the president’s Morena coalition, approved a constitutional change to fire all 7,000 judges and elect new ones in two ballots, half in 2022 and half in 2027.
The changes aim to reduce corruption, increase accountability, and make the judiciary more democratic. However, there are concerns from business leaders that these changes might undermine the rule of law and threaten investments.
President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum supports the reform and believes it cannot be reversed. There are still details to be worked out, but secondary legislation is expected to address investor concerns.
The US ambassador to Mexico has warned that the reform poses a risk to democracy and could make the judiciary vulnerable to organized crime. Despite criticism, the president of the Senate believes that the problems with the new judiciary are the same as the current ones.
The new law allows judges to handle cases involving organized crime as “anonymous judges,” but this system could be risky and open to abuse by authorities. The election of judges will cost about $360 million and be a complex process due to different judicial districts.
Overall, the changes in the judiciary have led to uncertainty and concerns among various parties in Mexico.
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