![](https://i0.wp.com/imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/2FVAQW7AGNF5TP6JBT6TSCIKIA.jpg?auth=b86cd18a1f1c71b293402d6f432295ac1ec1be9a7bcd86b1d54a9485588fd264&width=1200&w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1)
Everything indicates that all federal judges in Mexico will be elected by popular vote starting next year. Congress has in its hands the judicial reform initiative that the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, sent in February, and which essentially proposes that judges be appointed by citizens at the polls. The proposal has caused a strong national debate. To alleviate resentments, Claudia Sheinbaum, the president-elect, has announced new public forums to discuss the scope of the amendment before she takes office on October 1. This Thursday, however, she declared that the core of the reform—election by popular vote—will remain. “You know our position regarding the election of judges, magistrates, ministers, we talked about it in the campaign, we put it to the vote in the squares,” she said at a press conference. “My opinion is that judges should be elected,” she stated.
The day before, López Obrador made clear what should remain untouched in the reform initiative despite public consultations. “What I do believe should be sustained is that it is the people who elect them.” [a los jueces], because it is a principle,” said the president in La Mañanera. Former Minister Arturo Zaldívar, Sheinbaum’s advisor regarding judicial reform, indicated this week that the necessary adjustments would be made to the initiative after the public forums. However, Sheinbaum’s statement this Thursday anticipates that the modifications that could be made will be of lesser significance. The president-elect has indicated that the public forums, which will be coordinated by the Chamber of Deputies, will rather have the objective of disseminating to the public what the initiative consists of. “Let the people of Mexico know the content of the reform and let this open parliament hear what is being proposed,” she said this Thursday.
This week, Sheinbaum and his party, Morena, put the machinery in motion to speed up the start of public consultations, which, in addition to regional forums, will include a nationally representative survey to gather citizens’ opinions about the Judiciary. This survey will be conducted by Morena, which will hire two companies to carry out the survey this weekend, as explained by Sheinbaum. The mechanics will be the same as those followed by the official party in its internal processes for designating candidates: the party’s survey department will carry out a measurement, with a questionnaire and a methodology that the hired pollsters must replicate. The results of this survey will be ready as soon as Monday.
Along with the open parliament, which will consist of 10 regional forums, the Permanent Commission of Congress will ask the Commission on Constitutional Points of the Chamber of Deputies to rule on López Obrador’s initiative before September, according to sources close to Sheinbaum. . The opinion could be ready without the public consultations having concluded. The rush is explained not only because the new Legislature takes office that month (the deputies and senators elected on June 2), but because September is also López Obrador’s last month in office. The outgoing president will be able to enact judicial reform before handing over the presidential sash to Sheinbaum, according to this plan.
New voices have joined the discussion about the official amendment. This Thursday, the Federal Judiciary Council (CJF), the administration and oversight body of the judges – which will also be reformed -, expressed in a statement its intention to participate in the consultations, “with the aim of sharing points of view and experiences that are of utmost importance in the daily work carried out by those who administer justice and all the personnel who work in the jurisdictional and administrative field within the Judiciary.” Days before, the National Association of Circuit Magistrates and District Judges (JUFED) also declared its intention to participate in the forums, with the confidence that its proposals will be taken into account. Sheinbaum has welcomed the spirit of discussion and has invited the ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice to also participate in the consultations.
Sign up for the EL PAÍS México newsletter for free and to whatsapp channel and receive all the key information on current events in this country.
#Sheinbaum #confirms #judicial #reform #include #election #judges #popular #vote