Retired minister Arturo Zaldívar has established himself in Claudia Sheinbaum’s entourage, just weeks before she officially takes over the Presidency of Mexico from Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The president-elect has named Zaldívar coordinator of Politics and Government of the presidential office and has charged him, as his first mission, with bringing the reform of the Judicial Branch to a successful conclusion. Once the public debates organized by Congress to collect the positions of judges and judicial workers have concluded, the ruling party is preparing to approve the ruling in the commissions of the Chamber of Deputies. The goal of Morena and its allies from the PT and the Green Party is for the Legislature that will take office on September 1 to approve the judicial amendment in the first days of the month, so that López Obrador can promulgate it before leaving office.
About to turn 65, Zaldívar points out in this interview with EL PAÍS that the controversial election of judges at the polls will be maintained in the reform, but clarifies that the renewal of the judiciary will be done in two moments, in elections to be held in 2025 and 2027. The latter would be concurrent with the midterm election of federal deputies and with the consultation on the revocation of mandate – which must be carried out halfway through each six-year term so that citizens can decide whether the Executive in office remains in office. The retired minister defends the overwhelming majority obtained by the Morena alliance at the polls, and criticizes academics and opponents who demand that the INE and the Electoral Tribunal subtract seats from the ruling party in Congress, as part of the movement against partisan overrepresentation. “It would be a true technical coup d’état; It would be extremely serious from a constitutional point of view, but even more so from a social point of view, because the people of Mexico have already voted overwhelmingly in favor of an option, with pre-established rules of the game,” said the retired judge.
P. Some people were profiling you in the Legal Department of the Presidency.
R. That was never an option, because, although it is true that I had no impediment – the Ministry is not a State Secretariat, the Constitution distinguishes that – there is an impediment to handling matters before the Federal Judicial Branch two years after having been a minister. And practically half of the work of the Ministry is to litigate or take matters to court, and it would not have been appropriate. In addition, I was not aspiring to any position, I was interested in having a position in which I could be useful to the president and the country.
P. Does this appointment give you room to help him as much as you intend?
R. All appointments in the Office of the President are positions supporting the President. She has expressly mentioned that my main task, at least in this first stage, will be to help implement all constitutional reforms, with a strong emphasis on judicial reform, because it is the one that will require much more intensive implementation.
P. Will we see him in the position of Coordinator of Policy and Government for the entire six-year term?
R. It will be up to the president to decide where she thinks I can help her the best. I have no problem with that. I didn’t join her team for a position, I joined her trying to support her, to help her. I’m not in this, especially at this point in my life, looking for politics, to seek positions. That’s not my thing.
P. Judicial reform has required a lot of political work. What is the biggest challenge to getting it approved in Congress?
R. It is a major challenge because it is a very significant change, perhaps the most important that has occurred in the history of the Mexican Judiciary. And this presents many challenges: first, to get it approved, which is the responsibility of the legislators, and to make the adjustments to the initiative that are considered appropriate without losing its essence; then, the implementation: carrying out the popular election of all the members of the Federal Judiciary and the Judiciaries of the States and Mexico City is not an easy task. We have also had the challenge of explaining the reform; there is a lot of misinformation, a lot of disqualification. a priori. And also to convince that it is not a matter of people, it is not a question that occurs because there is a good or bad relationship with Norma Piña. [la presidenta de la Suprema Corte] or whoever; it is a question of the justice system not working, I think we all agree on that, and there was a mandate at the ballot box from the people that this system had to be changed so that it would work. That is what it is about, not about passing the bills to certain people.
P. Will there be any changes to the project following the forums organised by Congress?
R. Legislators and also President López Obrador have socialized some changes that could in principle occur. For example, that there will be open calls for applications in the Presidency, the Legislative and the Judicial Branch so that anyone who is interested can apply. Second, evaluation committees to choose the best profiles. Third, that all ministers, magistrates and judges are guaranteed to compete, if they so wish, so that their position is somehow ratified by the people in the popular election. What is being seen, according to what has been said in the forums, is what can be improved; for example, there has been a lot of insistence on staggering, so it is very likely that there will be at least two elections, that it will not be all in one electoral process. The type of ballots there should be is also being analyzed, because there is a lot of talk about the difficulty of voting, and it will undoubtedly be a different type of voting. The campaigns will last two months, especially in the official times of the Mexican State; Candidates will be able to use their social media without advertising, without putting up money, and they will be able to accept interviews as long as there is a minimum of equity in the media. This is how the landscape of what the new Mexican Judiciary will be is being built.
P. You spoke of a two-phased approach. What will it look like?
R. I am being very careful, I am only referring to what the legislators have already said, because it is up to them to make the ruling. There would be a first election in June of next year, where all the ministers, the members of the Disciplinary Court, and half, let’s say, of the judges and magistrates would be elected. And the other half would be in 2027, waiting until the midterm election. [de diputados]due to the cost that an election in 2026 would entail.
P. What criteria are you considering requiring from candidates to be qualified?
R. The professional career, the life path, perhaps some essays, interviews that may be held with the evaluation committee will be seen. The idea is to get the most suitable profiles, understanding a new logic of suitable profile, not a technocratic logic, as would be through competitive examinations, but in a broader sense, that there are candidates more representative of the plurality of the people of Mexico. It has been said that the judicial career will end and that is not the case. All positions in the Judicial Branch will be through competitive examinations, except for the position of judge and magistrate; that is where the election begins. The possibilities that the majority of officials in jurisdictional areas become judges or magistrates are much higher with the reform than they are now. Today it continues to be a very closed system, with a lot of cronyism and nepotism. I believe that this reform, once it begins to be assessed by those who make up the Judicial Branch, will realize that many possibilities of promotion are opening up for them that they did not have before.
P. What secondary laws are planned?
R. First we have to pass the constitutional reform. Then, first of all, you will need a new organic law for the Federal Judicial Branch, because it changes the organization of the Court, there is a new Disciplinary Court, there is a new Administrative Body, there is a new way for all members of the Judicial Branch to access their positions. We will have to reflect on whether it is necessary to maintain a judicial career law or if it is integrated into the organic law. In terms of actions and controversies [constitucionales]today eight votes are requested [del pleno de la Corte]we will most likely move to six votes, because the Court will have nine members. We will have to regulate in the electoral laws everything that has to do with the election of judges of the Federal Judicial Branch. All of that will have to be analyzed once we have the reform.
P. In the Senate, Morena and its allies do not have a qualified majority. Will this be an obstacle to passing the amendment?
R. I believe that with political work and conviction, we will be able to obtain the necessary votes.
P. The factor of over-representation has entered into the equation. Is there any chance of losing the qualified majority in this way?
R. It would be a technical coup d’état. The Constitution is very clear; the criteria of the Electoral Court have been very clear; in the Court, with me as a member of the plenary, we unanimously declared the constitutionality of section 12 of article 87 of the General Law of Parties, which specifies how the deputies are assigned to coalitions. So the interpretation of the Constitution, its meaning, its letter and the precedents, validate what we are maintaining: the 8% limit of overrepresentation qualifies parties, not coalitions. Furthermore, coalitions are electoral alliances, not legislative alliances; parties compete in coalition, but, once they win and take their seats, they have their parliamentary groups and are not obliged to vote together; the coalition is not a parliamentary unit. So, it would be a contradiction and an absurdity to pretend that a limit be placed on the overrepresentation of a coalition that disappears at the moment in which the seats are assigned.
I understand the desperation of the opposition and interested academics to try to win at the polls what they lost at the ballot box; the rules of the game were very clear. If the INE and the Electoral Court fulfill their responsibility, apply the Constitution and adhere to precedents, there is no doubt that we will have a qualified majority, and there is no way they can overturn it, except in a technical coup d’état. It would truly be a scandal and a legal, political and democratic aberration, because democracy is that the rules of the game are respected; it is not fair, once the game is over, to change them.
P. The qualified majority is a power that demands moderation and responsibility. What will be the limits for Morena?
R. President Sheinbaum will act with enormous responsibility to promote the reforms necessary to consolidate the transformation of the country. There will be no arbitrariness, arrogance, or abuse of power. The president will make responsible and prudent use of this enormous power, which will practically grant her the constituent power to modify the Constitution.
P. Aren’t you worried that this qualified majority will become a shackle for the president herself? That is, that the party will go down a different path from the one marked out by her, and even subjugate her?
R. No, because we are part of a movement and we are all on the same side. When I say that [la mayoría] It will be exercised responsibly, but that does not mean it will be exercised half-heartedly. There is a popular mandate, a government program, a movement, there are principles, values and objectives that are very clear and the people of Mexico voted for them. I do not see it possible for the party to go one way and the president another. She is the leader of this movement and she is the one who will set the pace.
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