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CTV News
2 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Mexico's first judicial elections stir controversy and confusion among voters
An electoral worker prepares ballot boxes for the country's first judicial elections in Mexico City, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) MEXICO CITY — Mexico held its first-ever judicial elections on Sunday, stirring controversy and sowing confusion among voters still struggling to understand a process set to transform the country's court system. The election appeared to get off to a slow start. Some voting centers in Mexico City, the Gulf coast state of Veracruz and the southern state of Chiapas opened with no one or only a handful of people waiting to vote. Experts had warned that turnout in the historic elections could be extremely low, due to the mindboggling array of unfamiliar choices and the fact that voting for judges is entirely new. Mexico's ruling party, Morena, overhauled the court system late last year, fueling protests and criticism that the reform is an attempt by those in power to seize on their political popularity to gain control of the branch of government until now out of their reach. 'It's an effort to control the court system, which has been a sort of thorn in the side' of those in power, said Laurence Patin, director of the legal organization Juicio Justo in Mexico. 'But it's a counter-balance, which exists in every healthy democracy.' Now, instead of judges being appointed on a system of merit and experience, Mexican voters will choose between some 7,700 candidates vying for more than 2,600 judicial positions. In a middle-class Mexico City neighborhood, poll workers organized the color-coded ballots by federal and local contests. Four people were waiting to vote when the location opened. Esteban Hernández, a 31-year-old veterinary student, said he didn't agree with electing judges and doesn't support Morena, but came to vote because 'since there isn't much participation, my vote will count more.' He had studied the candidates on a website listing their qualifications and decided to pick those who had doctorates. At the same polling place, Octavio Arellano, a 67-year-old consultant, quickly made his selections, referring to handwritten notes he carried with him. He's also a critic of the process, but voted for members of the Supreme Court, as well as disciplinary and electoral tribunals, to 'influence the most important' races. He said he spoiled his votes for the local judicial positions. At a polling place in a park in Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala, Francisco Torres de León, a 62-year-old retired teacher, came prepared, having studied the ballots and his selections. He marked all the ballots in about five minutes, but even so, said, 'the process is laborious because there are too many candidates and positions that they're going to occupy.' Hugo de León Roblero, 73, also a retired teacher, took about 20 minutes to fill out the ballots at the same polling place, but supported the process, which he said was a necessary change, 'even though there's some confusion about how to vote.' Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and party allies have said the elections are a way to purge the court system of corruption in a country that has long faced high levels of impunity. Critics say the vote could damage democracy and open the judicial system up further to organized crime and other corrupt actors hoping to get a grip on power. That process has only grown more chaotic in the run-up to the vote. Civil society organizations like Defensorxs have raised red flags about a range of candidates running for election, including lawyers who represented some of Mexico's most feared cartel leaders and local officials who were forced to resign from their positions due to corruption scandals. Also among those putting themselves forward are ex-convicts imprisoned for years for drug-trafficking to the United States and a slate of candidates with ties to a religious group whose spiritual leader is behind bars in California after pleading guilty to sexually abusing minors. At the same time, voters have been plagued by confusion over a voting process that Patin warned has been hastily thrown together. Voters often have to choose from sometimes more than a hundred candidates who are not permitted to clearly voice their party affiliation or carry out widespread campaigning. As a result, many Mexicans say they're going into the vote blind. Mexico's electoral authority has investigated voter guides being handed out across the country, in what critics say is a blatant move by political parties to stack the vote in their favor. 'Political parties weren't just going to sit with their arms crossed,' Patin said. Miguel Garcia, a 78-year-old former construction worker, stood in front of the country's Supreme Court on Friday peering at a set of posters, voter guides with the faces and numbers of candidates. He was fiercely scribbling down their names on a small scrap of paper and said that he had traveled across Mexico City to try to inform himself ahead of the vote, but he couldn't find any information other than outside the courthouse. 'In the neighborhood where I live, there's no information for us,' he said. 'I'm confused, because they're telling us to go out and vote but we don't know who to vote for.' María Verza, Megan Janetsky and Fabiola Sánchez, The Associated Press AP journalists Edgar H. Clemente in Tapachula, Mexico, Alba Aléman in Xalapa, Mexico and Fernando Llano in Mexico City contributed to this report.
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Mexican navy says ship's pilot in deadly bridge crash was from New York
The Mexican navy has said that the pilot navigating the training ship Cuauhtémoc during its Saturday night crash into the Brooklyn Bridge was New York-based. 'The ship must be controlled by a specialized harbor pilot from the New York government,' Admiral Raymundo Pedro Morales Angeles said at a press conference. Morales Angeles acknowledged there was not much time for the pilot to react to the situation, possibly as little as 80 to 90 seconds. Two soldiers from the Mexican navy were killed and 22 others were injured during the incident, which collapsed all three of the ship's masts. The event was captured on video by onlookers and quickly spread on social media. The dead were identified as América Sánchez, 20, from Veracruz, and Adal Jair Maldonado Marcos, 23, from Oaxaca. In interviews with Mexico News Daily, family members talked about Sanchez's aspirations to become a naval engineer, and Maldonado's long-held dream of following his father's path as a sailor. The ship, which had 277 people on board, was in the midst of a 254-day global goodwill tour, beginning with a 6 April departure from Acapulco, on Mexico's Pacific coast, and spent five days docked in New York City. New York police said the ship lost power as it left the harbor for Iceland, and was sucked toward the bridge by the current. The ship, at 157ft tall (48m), was unable to fit under the clearance of the Brooklyn Bridge, at 134.5ft (41m). A member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was unclear as to how police discerned the ship lost power, but said there were no structural integrity concerns related to the Brooklyn Bridge itself. Onlookers reported seeing crewmembers hanging from the ships masts and beams while awaiting rescue. A full investigation into the ship's crash is being handled by the NTSB. A preliminary report is expected to be issued in under 30 days, but the full investigation will likely take over a year.
CTV News
20-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Mexico mourns naval cadet killed when training ship collided with Brooklyn Bridge
The broken masts of the Cuauhtemoc, a masted Mexican Navy training ship, is seen after it collided with the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) XALAPA, Mexico — Dozens of people gathered overnight in the street where one of the Mexican naval cadets who died when their training vessel hit the Brooklyn Bridge lived. América Yamilet Sánchez, 20, was in the final year of her studies at the naval academy when she was killed aboard the naval teaching vessel Cuauhtemoc on Saturday. A small crowd gathered near her home in the early hours of Tuesday, many holding white roses and their cellphones to illuminate the way for the hearse carrying her body. Naval officers accompanied her arrival around midnight at the orange painted house in Veracruz's state capital Xalapa. Sánchez was the pride of her family, a standout student and athlete, who had already distinguished herself — scoring top marks in her naval systems engineering studies. She was a squadron leader and among those selected for the special group that accompanied President Claudia Sheinbaum at her inauguration. 'I'm going to carry you in my heart. My daughter is the pride of all of Mexico, for all the world,' Cosme Sánchez said, holding a photograph of his daughter in her dress uniform. 'I'm devastated, but we're going to move forward. My daughter was an example for everyone, she's going to be remembered as she should be.' Among the flower arrangements at her family's home was one with a one with a white sash reading, 'Barracudas family, with love.' It came from the local swimming school where Sánchez learned to take her first strokes a decade ago. At the naval academy she won medals and represented the institution nationally in open water swimming competitions. A masted Mexican Navy training ship, the Cuauhtémoc, sits stranded after colliding with the Brooklyn Bridge after, Saturday, May 17, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kyle Viterbo) A masted Mexican Navy training ship, the Cuauhtémoc, sits stranded after colliding with the Brooklyn Bridge after, Saturday, May 17, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kyle Viterbo) Her most recent honour was being awarded a place aboard the Cuauhtemoc, which planned to visit 22 ports in 15 countries. On Saturday, she sent her parents photos, told them she loved them and spoke excitedly of the ship's next stop: Iceland. Sánchez was high in one of the Cuauhtemoc's three masts Saturday night when it slid out of its dock in New York, authorities told her family. It's a ceremonial practice to greet and pay respects entering and leaving ports. 'It's a display of discipline, skill and respect, common in training sailboats,' said her uncle, Rodolfo Hernández Sayago. 'She was the pride (of the family),' Hernández said. 'My girl stood out in everything she did.' U.S. investigators laid out a timeline Monday showing the Cuauhtemoc was underway for less than five minutes before its masts crashed into the historic span, and radio calls indicating it was in distress went out only 45 seconds before the deadly collision. With the help of a tugboat, the Cuauhtemoc backed away from a Manhattan pier filled with cheering people at 8:20 p.m. on Saturday, U.S. officials said. Four minutes after the ship left, a radio call went out asking for help from any additional tugboats in the area, followed by other requests for assistance, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Brian Young told a media briefing Monday. Forty-five seconds after the first call, the ship, struck the bridge, snapping its three masts. After a few minutes, the ship separated from the tug and picked up speed, still moving in reverse, heading for the bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge escaped major damage but at least 19 of the ship's 277 sailors needed medical treatment, according to officials. Seven officers and 172 cadets who were aboard the Cuauhtemoc arrived early Monday at the port of Veracruz, where Mexico's naval school is, the Mexican navy said in a post on X. The body of the other sailor killed, 23-year-old Adal Jair Maldonado Marcos, was also returned to Mexico on Monday. Alba Alemán, The Associated Press
The Independent
20-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Mexico mourns naval cadet killed when training ship collided with Brooklyn Bridge
Dozens of people gathered overnight in the street where one of the Mexican naval cadets who died when their training vessel hit the Brooklyn Bridge lived. América Yamilet Sánchez, 20, was in the final year of her studies at the naval academy when she was killed aboard the naval teaching vessel Cuauhtemoc on Saturday. A small crowd gathered near her home in the early hours of Tuesday, many holding white roses and their cell phones to illuminate the way for the hearse carrying her body. Naval officers accompanied her arrival around midnight at the orange painted house in Veracruz's state capital Xalapa. Sánchez was the pride of her family, a standout student and athlete, who had already distinguished herself — scoring top marks in her naval systems engineering studies. She was a squadron leader and among those selected for the special group that accompanied President Claudia Sheinbaum at her inauguration. 'I'm going to carry you in my heart. My daughter is the pride of all of Mexico, for all the world,' Cosme Sánchez said, holding a photograph of his daughter in her dress uniform. 'I'm devastated, but we're going to move forward. My daughter was an example for everyone, she's going to be remembered as she should be.' Among the flower arrangements at her family's home was one with a one with a white sash reading, 'Barracudas family, with love.' It came from the local swimming school where Sánchez learned to take her first strokes a decade ago. At the naval academy she won medals and represented the institution nationally in open water swimming competitions. Her most recent honor was being awarded a place aboard the Cuauhtemoc, which planned to visit 22 ports in 15 countries. On Saturday, she sent her parents photos, told them she loved them and spoke excitedly of the ship's next stop: Iceland. Sánchez was high in one of the Cuauhtemoc's three masts Saturday night when it slid out of its dock in New York, authorities told her family. It's a ceremonial practice to greet and pay respects entering and leaving ports. 'It's a display of discipline, skill and respect, common in training sailboats,' said her uncle, Rodolfo Hernández Sayago. 'She was the pride (of the family),' Hernández said. 'My girl stood out in everything she did.' U.S. investigators laid out a timeline Monday showing the Cuauhtemoc was underway for less than 5 minutes before its masts crashed into the historic span, and radio calls indicating it was in distress went out only 45 seconds before the deadly collision. With the help of a tugboat, the Cuauhtemoc backed away from a Manhattan pier filled with cheering people at 8:20 p.m. on Saturday, U.S. officials said. Four minutes after the ship left, a radio call went out asking for help from any additional tugboats in the area, followed by other requests for assistance, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Brian Young told a media briefing Monday. Forty-five seconds after the first call, the ship, struck the bridge, snapping its three masts. After a few minutes, the ship separated from the tug and picked up speed, still moving in reverse, heading for the bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge escaped major damage but at least 19 of the ship's 277 sailors needed medical treatment, according to officials. Seven officers and 172 cadets who were aboard the Cuauhtemoc arrived early Monday at the port of Veracruz, where Mexico's naval school is, the Mexican navy said in a post on X. The body of the other sailor killed, 23-year-old Adal Jair Maldonado Marcos, was also returned to Mexico on Monday.
Times
19-05-2025
- General
- Times
Brooklyn Bridge crash victims identified after crew fell from masts
The two Mexican navy cadets killed when a training ship crashed into New York's Brooklyn Bridge have been identified. The Cuauhtémoc, which had 277 crew members on board, lost power before hitting the bridge at about 8.20pm on Saturday, according to the mayor, Eric Adams. America Yamilet Sanchez, 20, and Adal Jair Marcos, whose age was not disclosed, were named as the two sailors killed in the collision, which injured at least 19 others. Both Sanchez and Marcos had been on the masts of the ship when it struck the bridge. The Mexican Navy said on Monday that 172 cadets and seven officers who had been aboard the Cuauhtémoc arrived at the port of Veracruz in eastern Mexico and were reunited with their families. Two
