On Sunday, Mexico will hold its first-ever judicial elections, with hundreds of justices, magistrates, and judges up for grabs nationwide. Critics worry that the courts may become more vulnerable to the influence of criminal organisations or politicians due to an unprecedented struggle, which advocates claim would democratise them.
Approximately 1,800 municipal posts in 19 states and almost 900 federal ones—including all nine Supreme Court seats—will be up for grabs. The first of two voting stages will go place on Sunday, with the second one scheduled for 2027.
The vote was led by a constitutional amendment enacted in the last few weeks of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration. He maintained that the modification was required to reduce judicial impunity and increase voters’ influence on the legal system.
Opponents, however, interpreted the action as an effort by López Obrador to bolster the authority of his Morena party, which was in power at the time, by reforming the court that frequently obstructed several of his policy plans.
Critics argue that the autonomous authority of the courts and consequently their capacity to enforce the law and restrain other powers during a period of widespread crime and corruption may be jeopardised if judges are chosen by public vote.
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