Why Nearly All Judges in Mexico Could Soon Be Chosen by Voters

MEXICO CITY: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico leaves office at the end of September. But before he does, he will see one of his final missions largely fulfilled: a sweeping redesign of the judiciary that he says is needed to fight corruption.

The changes championed by the president would shift the judiciary from an appointment-based system largely grounded in training and qualifications to one where voters elect judges and there are few requirements to run. Nearly all of Mexico’s more than 7,000 judges could be affected by the measure, making the overhaul one of the most sweeping of its kind attempted anywhere in the world in recent decades, according to legal scholars.

The changes would apply to the 11 justices on the Supreme Court; 1,635 federal judges and magistrates; and more than 5,700 judges at the state and local level. Long lists of requirements to become a judge would be eliminated, especially at the federal level, opening the way for people who simply have a law degree and a few years of legal experience to run.

The measure was approved in the lower house of Congress last week, and it overcame its biggest obstacle when it was narrowly passed in the Senate on Wednesday  even after protesters barged into the building and interrupted the session Tuesday. It will now go to Mexico’s state legislatures, where it is expected to easily pass in the coming months.

The proposed measure could produce one of the most far-reaching judicial overhauls of any major democracy. Relatively few countries allow judges to be elected on a significant scale, but none to the degree that López Obrador is proposing, according to legal scholars.

The government says the measure is needed to modernize the judiciary and instill trust in a system plagued by graft, influence-peddling and nepotism. López Obrador’s successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, takes office Oct. 1 and has fully backed the plan.

But critics of the overhaul argue that the plan would do little to fix problems like corruption and would instead enhance the power of López Obrador’s nationalistic political movement.

Here is what to know about Mexico’s proposed judicial overhaul.

What would the measure do?

The proposal would change the way judges are selected throughout Mexico’s judiciary, shifting to a system where candidates for judgeships must stand for election instead of being appointed based largely on a battery of tests, qualifications and training.

However, the measure would not apply to military judges, or judges involved in land conflicts or specific disputes between administrative agencies and citizens. Such exceptions account for a small fraction of Mexico’s judges.

The proposal would also reshape the Supreme Court by reducing the number of justices from 11 to nine and shortening their term limits from 15 to 12 years. In some cases, the salaries and benefits of justices could be reduced to cut costs.

Additionally, the policy change would create a Tribunal for Judicial Discipline, whose members would also be elected by popular vote and have broad powers to investigate and possibly even fire or impeach judges. The tribunal’s decisions would be final and not subject to appeal.

Why are judges, court workers and critics upset by it?

López Obrador’s plan has sparked recent protests across the country and has even been the center of a diplomatic spat with the U.S. ambassador, Ken Salazar, who called it “a major risk to the functioning of Mexico’s democracy.”

Many critics of the overhaul agree that the system needs revamping. But they warn that the government’s proposal would do little to rid the judiciary of its problems. Instead, they say it would erode judicial independence and allow López Obrador’s political movement to concentrate power.

Specifically, critics of López Obrador and his allies express concern that the measures could lock in their current political advantages for a longer period of time by getting judges elected who are aligned with the ruling Morena party.

Some foreign companies are concerned that the changes could make it harder to find judges who are impartial when examining disputes between the government and businesses. Other critics have warned that drug cartels could attempt to influence the new judicial elections, much as they have done in other political races around the country.

Although a few countries do allow the election of some judges by popular vote — including the United States, Switzerland and Japan — experts say none of them do it in such a sweeping way as the proposed changes in Mexico would.

The determination to push through the measures has kept financial markets on edge, marked by a more than 15% plunge since early June in the value of the currency, the peso.

When could the measures be approved and implemented?

The leaders of López Obrador’s Morena party sought to push the measures through Congress this month, before Lopez Obrador’s tenure ends on Oct. 1. The measure passed in the lower house last week with 357 lawmakers present voting in favor of the overhaul and 130 opposing it. On Wednesday, the Senate also passed the overhaul with 86 votes in favor. A total of 41 senators opposed it.

Beside being passed by both houses of Congress, the measures have to be adopted by a majority of state legislatures — an easy task, since Morena and its allies have a majority in most state congresses. The changes would be implemented gradually, with a large portion of the judiciary up for election in 2025 and the rest in 2027. That means that all 32 states need to change their constitutions and choose either to organize elections in 2025 or wait two years.