Mexico votes in first judicial election amid concerns over rule of law
A man pushes his bicycle as an electoral propaganda banner hangs from a pedestrian bridge encouraging people to vote, ahead of the judicial and magistrate election, in Mexico City, Mexico May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Henry Romero
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexicans vote on Sunday in the country's first ever judicial elections, part of an overhaul of the nation's judiciary that critics warn could jeopardize the rule of law.
The vote will elect 2,600 judges and magistrates, including all Supreme Court justices, and is part of a reform pushed by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his protege and successor President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Lopez Obrador and Sheinbaum say the election will root out corruption in a flawed judiciary dominated by an out-of-touch elite and instead allow people to decide who should be a judge.
But the run-up to the vote has been dominated by a scandal over some of the candidates, including a convicted drug smuggler and a former lawyer of drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
Opponents say the overhaul risks removing checks and balances on the ruling Morena party, by appointing judges friendly to their cause, and also allowing organized crime groups greater influence over the judicial system by running their own candidates.
Mexico joins Bolivia as the only countries worldwide to conduct judicial elections at the national level, though state-level judicial elections are common in the United States and some local Swiss judges are also elected.
Voters on Sunday will cast ballots for Mexico's nine Supreme Court judges, as well as for judges and magistrates across 19 of Mexico's 32 administrative divisions. More than 7,700 candidates are running for judicial posts.
Pollsters expect a poor turnout, in part due to opposition calls to boycott the vote, but also because of the complexity of the process and vast number of candidates to consider.
"In Mexico City we are going to vote for 50 candidates. If even discerning people with access to social media aren't checking the candidates, imagine the people who don't have this access," 22-year-old accounting student Maria Alejandra Mares told Reuters. "They're going to vote blind."
Voting is not mandatory in Mexico and there is no minimum turnout required to legitimize an election.
Just 37% of 1,000 people polled by Buendia & Marquez said they would come out to vote, compared to 61% who participated in the vote last June that elected President Sheinbaum.
CONCERNS AND BOYCOTTS
The right-wing PAN opposition party has called on supporters to boycott the election, branding it a "vulgar fraud," but Sheinbaum has vigorously defended her predecessor's reform and her party has sought to mobilize the grassroots vote.
"We call on you to participate, participate, participate," Sheinbaum told a press conference on Friday, saying this would help significantly improve the current judiciary. "Participating is the best way to transform a country."
Besides mandating the popular election of judges, the judicial reform, promoted last year by former President Lopez Obrador, also reduced the number of Supreme Court judges, shortened terms and eased some requirements such as minimum age and work experience.
The reform's approval by lawmakers last year knocked financial markets, sparked the United States to express concern about a weaker judicial system, and sparked a strike by the country's judicial workers.
"Mexico's justice system was far from perfect, and this new judicial system will not address its shortcomings," said Rodolfo Ramos, an analyst at Brazilian bank Bradesco BBI.
Ramos said "the real litmus test" would come when cases against a government action reach the Supreme Court.
Counting is expected to take two weeks, with the results out on June 15.
In 2027, another vote is scheduled to fill over 1,000 more judicial positions.
(Reporting by Diego Ore; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Tom Hogue)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Mexico president defends world-first judicial vote
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 called 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 began the long process of tallying 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 percent 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. The low participation rate compared with turnout of around 60 percent in presidential elections last year that Sheinbaum won by a landslide. The veteran left-winger told Mexicans on Monday that they have '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, rejecting comparisons to authoritarian states like Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. '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. Arturo Giesemann, a 57-year-old retiree, said his main reason for voting was 'the disgust I have with the current judiciary because of its corruption.' In the western state of Jalisco, 63-year-old housewife Maria Estrada said she used her 'intuition' because she did not know the candidates. 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.' 'Good reputation' 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. Candidates were supposed to have a law degree, experience in legal affairs and what is termed 'a good reputation,' as well as no criminal record in Mexico. To do a good job, voters would have had 'to spend hours and hours researching the track record and the profiles of each of the hundreds of candidates,' said David Shirk, an expert on Mexico's justice system at the University of San Diego. 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.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
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 called 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 began the long process of tallying 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 percent 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. The low participation rate compared with turnout of around 60 percent in presidential elections last year that Sheinbaum won by a landslide. The veteran left-winger told Mexicans on Monday that they have '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, rejecting comparisons to authoritarian states like Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. '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. Arturo Giesemann, a 57-year-old retiree, said his main reason for voting was 'the disgust I have with the current judiciary because of its corruption.' In the western state of Jalisco, 63-year-old housewife Maria Estrada said she used her 'intuition' because she did not know the candidates. 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.' 'Good reputation' 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. Candidates were supposed to have a law degree, experience in legal affairs and what is termed 'a good reputation,' as well as no criminal record in Mexico. To do a good job, voters would have had 'to spend hours and hours researching the track record and the profiles of each of the hundreds of candidates,' said David Shirk, an expert on Mexico's justice system at the University of San Diego. 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.
Malay Mail
2 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Top countries where the US gets its steel and aluminium from, and how much
WASHINGTON, June 3 — US President Donald Trump said on Friday he planned to double tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 50 per cent from 25 per cent, starting from Wednesday, ratcheting up pressure on global producers and deepening his trade war. Here's a summary of the major trade partners it will affect. Steel: Roughly a quarter of all steel used in the US is imported, the bulk of it from neighbours Mexico and Canada or close allies in Asia and Europe such as Japan, South Korea and Germany. While China is the world's largest steel producer and exporter, it sends very little to the United States. Tariffs of 25 per cent imposed in 2018 shut most Chinese steel out of the market. China exported 508,000 net tons of steel to the US last year or 1.8 per cent of total American steel imports. Aluminium: For aluminium, the US is more heavily reliant on imports. Roughly half of all aluminium used in the US is imported, with the vast majority coming from Canada. At 3.2 million tons last year, Canadian imports were twice those of the next nine countries combined. The next largest sources of imports are the United Arab Emirates and China, at 347,034 and 222,872 metric tons, respectively. The US aluminium smelting industry is small by global standards. Total smelter capacity in the country was just 1.73 per cent of the global total according to the US Geological Survey. — Reuters
