Mexico's election body probes alleged political interference before judicial vote
Mexico's electoral authority is investigating complaints that political groups, including governing party Morena, are trying to sway voters in the upcoming judicial elections, an official at the body said on Monday.
Mexicans will head to the polls on Sunday to choose among about 5,000 candidates vying for more than 840 federal judge and magistrate positions, including all Supreme Court justices. They will be Mexico's first judicial elections.
Electoral rules dictate candidates cannot use campaign materials that link them to a political party, participate in events organised by political parties or accept donations of any kind.
Claudia Zavala, an electoral adviser at election body INE, told Reuters the institution is looking into two complaints. The first alleges the government of northern state Nuevo Leon and political party Movimiento Ciudadano (MC) asked civil servants to take voters to polls and shared pamphlets promoting the names of candidates.
The second complaint, in Mexico City, the capital, raises similar allegations against civil servants and Morena.
The investigations come after videos of people passing out the pamphlets circulated on social media.
'We must respect the people, the citizens, the women and men who have the right to go to the polls and freely decide who they want as their judges, magistrates and ministers, and no-one should be telling anyone how to vote,' Zavala said.
The government of Nuevo Leon, Morena and MC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
INE will decide through its investigation whether there has been a violation of the rules, Zavala said, and will pass the information on to the electoral tribunal of the Federal Judiciary, which will rule on the case.
Mexico's first judicial elections, the result of a reform proposed by former president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, have attracted criticism that they risk removing checks and balances on Morena and could allow organised crime groups greater influence over the judicial system.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
21 hours ago
- eNCA
Indigenous rights defender elected head of top Mexican court
Hugo Aguilar, an Indigenous rights defender and former advisor to Mexico's Zapatista guerrilla movement, won election to become the head of the country's Supreme Court, official results showed Thursday. The change in the key post, long reserved for elite jurists, follows unprecedented elections on Sunday in which Mexico became the first country in the world to choose judges at all levels at the ballot box. Aguilar, a constitutional law specialist and member of the Indigenous group Mixtec, is now one of the highest profile Indigenous leaders in Latin America. During his campaign, he proclaimed "it's our turn" and denounced the "exclusion and abandonment" of native peoples. Around 20 percent of Mexicans identify as Indigenous. Aguilar was a legal advisor to the now demobilized Zapatistas during negotiations with the government following an armed uprising in 1994. He has said Mexico's Indigenous peoples are owed a "a significant debt." Aguilar worked at the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples under President Claudia Sheinbaum's predecessor and mentor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador -- both of whom have criticized what they say is the elite's grip on the judiciary. The trailblazing judicial elections have been controversial in the Latin American nation. The overhaul was initiated by Lopez Obrador, who frequently clashed with the Supreme Court over whether his policy changes were unconstitutional Despite confusion and low turnout -- with only about 13 percent of eligible voters participating -- Sheinbaum declared the election a success. Her opponents, however, branded it a "farce" and warned it would consolidate the ruling party's power, as it already dominates both houses of Congress. The majority of Mexico's Supreme Court justices quit over the judicial reforms last year and declined to stand for election. Aguilar follows in the footsteps of Benito Juarez, Mexico's first Indigenous president who also led the Supreme Court from 1857 to 1858.
Eyewitness News
3 days ago
- Eyewitness News
Mexico president defends world-first judicial vote despite low turnout
MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum hit back Monday at criticism of her country's unprecedented election of judges, after most voters skipped a ballot that her opponents branded a farce. Sunday's election followed highly contentious reforms making Mexico the only country in the world to let voters select all of their judges, including Supreme Court justices. As officials tallied votes, Sheinbaum hailed the "complete success" of an exercise she said was needed to clean up a judiciary mired in corruption. The National Electoral Institute said around 13% of eligible voters took part in a poll that critics said would erode democratic checks and balances and leave judges more vulnerable to criminal influence. Sheinbaum told Mexicans that they had "nothing to fear." "Mexico is a free, democratic country - that won't change. Nothing will change, except access to justice," she said at her daily news conference. Sheinbaum pushed back at claims "that we're heading toward authoritarianism, and that the president will have a lot of power because she'll control the judiciary." "Now the judges, magistrates and justices answer to the people," she said. The first results were expected Monday, beginning with the Supreme Court justices. With more than half of those votes counted, Hugo Aguilar, a lawyer and defender of Indigenous people's rights, was leading the race to be president of the top court. 'DARK DAY' The leader of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Alejandro Moreno, denounced the vote as a "farce" and called it a "dark day for democracy." The elections showed Sheinbaum's Morena party was "willing to do anything to concentrate power. They weaken the justice system, trample on institutions, and block the way to democratic debate," he said. Many voters seemed daunted by the long list of largely unknown candidates in an election for around 880 federal judges as well as hundreds of local judges and magistrates. Another election for the remainder will be held in 2027. In the western state of Jalisco, 63-year-old housewife Maria Estrada said she used her "intuition" because she did not know the candidates. Arturo Giesemann, a 57-year-old retiree in Mexico City, said his main reason for voting was "the disgust I have with the current judiciary because of its corruption." Hundreds of opponents of the reforms marched through the capital waving flags and banners with slogans including: "Hands off our democracy" and "No to electoral fraud." The elections send the judiciary "to its grave," said Ismael Novela, a 58-year-old company worker. "It was the last counterweight we had against the totalitarianism of the executive branch." 'GOOD REPUTATION' Critics of the election warned that criminal groups who regularly use violence, threats and bribery would seek to increase their influence over the courts by meddling in the vote. Rights group Defensorxs had identified around 20 candidates it considered "high risk," including Silvia Delgado, a former lawyer for Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Another aspiring judge, in Durango state, spent almost six years in prison in the United States for drug crimes, despite an official requirement for a clean criminal record. Candidates were also supposed to have a law degree, experience in legal affairs and what is termed "a good reputation." The run-up to the vote was not accompanied by the kind of violence that often targets Mexican politicians, which could in part reflect the "chaotic process," said David Shirk, an expert on Mexico's justice system at the University of San Diego. "Part of the problem for organised crime is they're not sure what judges stand for and who's going to be easy to influence, who's going to be willing to take bribes," he told AFP. "It could be that in the coming year, as judges take office and start making decisions that are unfavourable to organised crime, that's when we'll start to see some of the pressure and violent activities by organised crime groups," Shirk added.
eNCA
4 days ago
- eNCA
Mexicans elect their judges under shadow of crime, corruption
Mexicans chose their judges Sunday in unprecedented elections that sharply divided opinion in a country plagued by rampant crime, corruption and impunity. The government and its supporters said the reform making Mexico the world's only nation to select all of its judges and magistrates by popular vote was needed to clean up a rotten justice system. Arturo Giesemann, a 57-year-old retiree, said his main motivation for voting was "the disgust I have with the current judiciary because of its corruption." Turnout appeared to be low as many voters struggled to choose from hundreds of largely unknown candidates. "We are not very prepared," said Lucia Calderon, a 63-year-old university teacher. "I think we need more information." In the western state of Jalisco, 63-year-old housewife Maria Estrada said she used her "intuition" as she did not know the candidates. Experts were concerned that the elections would politicize the justice system and make it easier for criminals to influence the courts with threats and bribery. AFP | Alfredo ESTRELLA While corruption already exists, "there is reason to believe that elections may be more easily infiltrated by organised crime than other methods of judicial selection," Margaret Satterthwaite, the United Nations special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, told AFP. Hundreds of opponents of the reforms marched through Mexico City waving flags and banners with slogans including: "Hands off our democracy" and "No to electoral fraud." The elections send the judiciary "to its grave," said Ismael Novela, a 58-year-old company worker. "It was the last counterweight we had against the totalitarianism of the executive branch." - 'Regime of corruption' - President Claudia Sheinbaum hit back at her critics on the eve of the vote. "Those who want the regime of corruption and privileges in the judiciary to continue say this election is rigged. Or they also say it's so a political party can take over the Supreme Court," she said in a video message. "Nothing could be further from the truth," she insisted. The run-up to the vote was not accompanied by the kind of violence that often targets politicians in Mexico. But "it is logical that organised criminal groups would have approached judges and candidates who are important to them," said consultant Luis Carlos Ugalde, a former head of Mexico's electoral commission. Rights group Defensorxs has identified around 20 candidates it considers "high risk," including Silvia Delgado, a former lawyer for Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Another aspiring judge, in Durango state, spent almost six years in prison in the United States for drug crimes. - 'Good reputation' - Voters were tasked with choosing around 880 federal judges -- including Supreme Court justices -- as well as hundreds of local judges and magistrates. Another election for the remainder will be held in 2027. AFP | Rodrigo Oropeza Candidates are supposed to have a law degree, experience in legal affairs and what is termed "a good reputation," as well as no criminal record. To do a good job, voters "would have to spend hours and hours researching the track record and the profiles of each of the hundreds of candidates," said David Shirk, a professor at the University of San Diego. He believes that most of the corruption in Mexico's judicial system is in law enforcement agencies and public prosecutor's offices. "If you can avoid being prosecuted, you don't have to worry about the judge," said Shirk, who heads the Justice in Mexico research project. The judicial reforms were championed by Sheinbaum's predecessor and mentor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who frequently clashed with the courts before stepping down last year. The main reason for the elections seems to be "because Lopez Obrador had a grudge against the judges," Shirk said.
