The proposal to reform the Judiciary, put forth by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and championed by Morena and its allies in the National Congress, fails to address the issue of access to justice in Mexico. According to Rubén Moreira, the PRI coordinator, the reform neither increases the budget nor resolves the shortage of judges.
On the contrary, there is a risk that organized crime could infiltrate the process of selecting ministers, judges, and magistrates through popular vote, as proposed in the project sent to the Chamber of Deputies on February 5, 2024.
“In Mexico, during the election in Badiraguato—forgive me—I would still worry about many places in Michoacán and Chiapas. We are concerned that someone with ties to drug trafficking could become a judge. Economic factors pushing judges also concern us. Additionally, we worry that minorities won’t be heard. There are specialized courts, not just requiring legal expertise but high specialization in specific areas, such as those dealing with contests or bankruptcies. Does everyone have the capacity for that?” expressed Moreira.
Following the meeting of the Political Coordination Board (Jucopo), Moreira cautioned that Bolivia had implemented a similar process for selecting members of its Judiciary, which ultimately failed. As for the proposal by President López Obrador, it has not been applied anywhere in the world.
“The problem lies in the initiative sent by the President, which refers to models that have not been implemented anywhere in the world, not even in Bolivia. To begin with, Bolivia is not a federated country like ours. It is a nation, with all due respect, of 12 million people, ranking 93rd in the global economy. In contrast, we are the second-largest economy with over 120 million people,” he emphasized.
Moreira suggested that the judicial reform should focus, for instance, on addressing the resource shortages faced by local prosecutors.
“It’s not just the Federal Judiciary; it’s the judicial systems of the states as well. The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation and the Federal Judiciary have budgets of around 70 billion pesos combined. Meanwhile, the state judiciaries operate on approximately 45 billion pesos. If we truly want a significant reform—one that makes people say ‘justice has changed in the country’—we need to address many aspects,” he concluded.
Source: El Universal
