By Emilio Lezama
The obsession of AMLO with reforming the judiciary does not come from a vision of a statesman who wants a more fair country. It also doesn’t come from a deep analysis of the current system or a desire to solve Mexico’s grave justice problem. The obsession comes from visceral, a repudiation towards a power that dared to put an end to his impulse decisions and unmovable stance. AMLO wants revenge.
Taking a decision of such high relevance based on resentment and obstinacy is an error. There will be those who want to live in the world of AMLO’s narrative, but for those interested in some plan of reality, the reform worries them. While he and some of his followers insist on their whim, markets, entrepreneurs, academics, and international organizations warn of the grave implications of passing such a reform.
It is undeniable that the judiciary needs a reform. A deep reform that allows Mexicans to have true access to justice. The judiciary is often corrupt, inefficient, and even collusive. However, AMLO’s reform does not aim to solve the problem of dispensing justice in Mexico, but rather to strike at the Supreme Court of Justice that has caused so many problems.
The country needs checks and balances, efficiency, and honesty; the president thinks about political games and revenge. The historical conditions of AMLO are self-imposed. Nothing limits him from being a great statesman, except himself.
It is obvious that this reform does not work, so Claudia Sheinbaum has had to spend most of her time since her election mitigating adverse reactions to the reform. However, before the reality of the situation, Claudia has nowhere to move. The president’s position seems unmovable, and Sheinbaum, with just reason, prefers not to have any disagreements until she is installed at Palacio Nacional.
The president’s emotionalism is dangerous, whether you’re an ally or opponent.
Claudia has been made to do the most difficult job by the president. AMLO’s actions can have negative consequences for her mandate. The reform is a ticking time bomb: if the reaction to its announcement was negative, the reaction to its ratification could be explosive. The president’s whim may cost Claudia Sheinbaum and even López Obrador’s legacy a very high price.
If the president did not insist on reforms to the judiciary, the National Guard, and the INE, the other 17 reforms he sent would guarantee his place in history; these three obstinacies will question his legacy.
It is true that AMLO’s proposal for reform does not bring solutions to Mexico’s justice problem, but his biggest problem is not that, it’s how it was drafted and ratified. What worries people is not so much whether there is a judicial reform or if it is populist and short-sighted, but rather the way in which someone with such great power as the constitutional majority acts arbitrarily and authoritarily. What worries people is not so much the present, but the future; if the president uses his new power in Congress to impose whims that have generated adverse reactions, then there is no limit to what can be ratified over the next three years. That’s what generates uncertainty and fear. What is needed is certainty that power will not be abused, which the president shows he will do as he pleases.
Most of the time, incoming presidents face a crisis that has already occurred or is inevitable. The absurdity of all this is that the crisis has not yet occurred and is easily avoidable. Although all signs warn of it, the president insists on his collision course. It seems like nothing said, written, or happening will change the president’s opinion, so there is no choice but to close one’s eyes and hope for the best. It won’t be he who pays the consequences; Claudia Sheinbaum will have to spend the next semester containing and, depending on reactions, her first year of government reconstructing.
There is no doubt about Claudia Sheinbaum’s capacity; we can only hope that this new trap set by the president does not absorb her impulse for her vision of the country.
Source: El Universal
