Sheinbaum: Justice in México Strengthened With Judicial Reform

The president-elect of México, Claudia Sheinbaum, has stated that the Senate’s approval of the judicial reform that will establish the popular election of judges, magistrates, and the Supreme Court, starting in 2025, is an initiative that will strengthen justice across México.

“I congratulate the senators of our movement for the approval of the judicial reform,” Sheinbaum wrote via social media this Wednesday, September 11. “The administration of justice in our country will be strengthened,” added the president-elect, who assumes the presidency on October 1.

In the early morning of this Wednesday, the judicial reform was approved en masse in the Senate, following a long session in which there was a change of venue due to an invasion by protesters, seizure of the platform, insults, and other sudden shocks and turns of events, but in which Morena ended up achieving a qualified majority, including the vote of a PAN member and the absence of a senator from Citizen’s Movement party (MC).

The final vote was 86 in favor and 41 against, with a violent reaction from the PAN, which tried several times to stop the discussion. The debate is still ongoing, with 60 reservations presented by the far-right PRI, PAN, and MC political parties.

Far-right sabotage of the discussion
In the first morning session, the Senate gave the first reading to the opinion of the minutes of the judicial reform, and then called for a second session to be held hours later at the headquarters of Reforma and Insurgentes. This session began with an angry opposition, given the fact that even by this point, MORENA had already managed to obtain two votes that it had been missing, which meant they could achieve the qualified majority required in a constitutional reform.

The president of the Constitutional Affairs Committee, Ernestina Godoy, presented the report and explained the content of this reform that modifies various articles of the Constitution. “It is a historic reform,” she stated, “because it gives citizens access to a fundamental human power, which is our inalienable right to justice, and this is an unavoidable debt to the right of justice that needs to be paid.”

She said that the reform aims to ensure that every person has real access to justice through a profound change in the organization and integration of the various bodies that make up the Federal Judicial Branch (PJF) and local judicial powers.

“The reform seeks the independence and autonomy of the Judiciary, separating the judicial function from political and economic power and protecting it from corruptive or criminal interests,” she explained. “This is imperative to ensure that justice reaches everyone, regardless of their income or political, economic, or social influence.”

“It strengthens democracy and citizen participation in public affairs,” Godoy continued, “and reinforces the division of powers that is the essence of the Republic, since the Judicial Branch will emerge from the will of the citizens and not from political agreement or foreign influences or family relationships. The reform addresses one of the major dimensions of justice, which is its administration.”

PAN coordinator Guadalupe Murguía, opposing the reform, warned that with this reform “the death certificate of democracy is extended,” and reproached Morena for obtaining “the votes it did not obtain in the elections by foul means and in the dark.”

Which Powers Oppose Judicial Reform in Mexico?

“Today there are more names on the long list of traitors inscribed on the wall of national shame,” she added, epithets that the right-wing opposition did not stop repeating. The discussion had started at 3 p.m. that day, but just an hour later, the president of the board of directors, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, had to declare a recess due to the interruption of right-wing protesters to the plenary hall.

The session resumed at 7 p.m. at the former headquarters of Xicoténcatl, where the opposition did not give up on its intention to stop the discussion of the reform, especially after the intervention of the PAN senator, Miguel Ángel Yunes Márquez, who—after requesting leave in the morning session and subsequently withdrawing the request in the afternoon—clarified from the plenary that he would vote in favor.

Once again there was shouting, whistling, and booing, and the persistent chorus of “traitor, traitor,” and he could barely be heard as he reproached his party for the campaign of threats and lynching against him. He condemned the fact that they have tried to force him to approve a reform, which has not even been discussed in the opposition bench simply because it goes against the majority of them.

This reform “represents Mexicans, whether we like it or not,” he explained amidst new cries from the right-wing crowd of “traitor, traitor.” With that vote, Morena achieved the 86 votes required for the approval of the reform proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. At around 10 p.m., the opposition took the podium, enraged, and continued with their chorus of “traitors, traitors,” directed at Morena and its allies.

In this turbulent atmosphere, full of shouts and insults, the debate continued. PAN member Lilly Téllez demanded the appearance of MC senator Daniel Barreda, and called Fernández Noroña a “scoundrel.” She reproached them for not keeping their word, as they had promised to hold a high-level debate. “Resistance, resistance,” chanted the opposition members, PAN members, PRI members, and members of MC, holding out against the reform.

Morena Senator Ignacio Inzunza made it clear that the opposition had been trying all day to disrupt the session, but that they would not succeed. “The reform is going ahead,” stated his fellow senator, Oscar Cantón Zetina, and reminded the opposition that they are a minority that refuses to listen to the voice of the people.

“They are a bunch of swindlers,” Manuel Huerta Ladrón de Guevara told. The general vote took place shortly after midnight, amid protests from the opposition and open celebration from Morena and its allies, who raised their voices to make it clear: “Yes, we could, yes, we could.”

(La Jornada) by Andrea Becerril and Georgina Sadierna with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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