6 keys to constitutional reform of the Judiciary in Mexico and position of the Catholic Church

During recent weeks, Mexico has witnessed an intense debate around the constitutional reform that would affect the Judiciary, promoted by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, founder of the National Regeneration Movement political party (MORENA).

This reform proposes to significantly modify the structure and functioning of the justice bodies in the country.

Below, we present some keys to understand this reform.

1. It is a proposal from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador

The reform of the Judicial Branch is one of the pillars of the package of 20 initiatives that President López Obrador presented on February 5, 2024, during Constitution Day. In his speech, the president highlighted that the Judiciary “cannot continue to be a set of institutions serving political and economic interests.”

The president stressed that the Judiciary must “assume its role as guarantor of justice and enforce an authentic rule of law, in which nothing and no one is outside the law or above it.”

2. These are the main changes proposed

The reform proposes a restructuring of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), eliminating the lifetime pensions of ministers and adjusting their salaries to the maximum limit allowed for the president.

Likewise, it proposes that judges and magistrates, both at the federal and local levels, be elected by popular vote.

One of the most controversial aspects of the initiative is the proposal to “protect the identity of the judging persons”, introducing the figure of the so-called “faceless judges”, designed to protect magistrates who face cases of organized crime.

3. It has not yet been definitively approved

The Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of the Union, the federal legislative body of Mexico, approved the judicial reform on September 4, 2024, in a session held in an alternate venue due to blockages by workers in the Judicial Branch. However, Senate approval is still missing.

According to Gerardo Fernández Noroñapresident of the Senate Board of Directors, the discussion of the initiative will begin on September 10, with the vote scheduled for the 11th.

4. Some of the criticisms of the judicial reform

The minister president of the SCJN, Norma Lucía Piña Hernández, express his concern on July 8, pointing out that if the changes are approved “not the most qualified person will get to the position (…) but the most popular, the one who knew how to relate well to positions of power.”

Also the United States ambassador, Ken Salazar, has expressed his concern about judicial reform, warning that “it represents a greater risk to the functioning of democracy in Mexico.” Salazar also noted that the proposals included in the proposed reform “threaten the historic trade relationship” between Mexico, the United States and Canada.

5. Messages in favor of reform

The elected president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, a member of MORENA, firmly supports the reform. In their social networks noted that “the reform of the Judiciary does not affect our commercial relations, nor private, national or foreign investments.” “On the contrary,” he said, “there will be more and better rule of law and more democracy for everyone.”

Other well-known politicians, such as Marcelo Ebrard —also from MORENA and former Secretary of Foreign Affairs of López Obrador— and Juan Ramón de la Fuente —who was Mexico’s representative to the United Nations between 2018 and 2023—, They also support the initiativearguing that it seeks to improve the transparency and efficiency of the justice system. In response to a critical editorial by The Washington Post Regarding the reform, Ebrard and de la Fuente stated that the reform has the purpose of strengthening the Judicial Branch.

6. What does the Catholic Church say?

In a statement released on September 5, the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate warned that the constitutional reform initiative that affects the Judiciary in Mexico, approved by the Chamber of Deputies and sent to the Senate for analysis and voting, does not guarantee “a better and more qualified administration of justice; Furthermore, it affects the autonomy of the Judiciary.”

The Mexican bishops asked the senators to “reflect deeply” on the reform proposal, “beyond unnecessary partisanship, contemplating the good of the Nation.”

Father Mario Ángel Flores Ramos, former rector of the Pontifical University of Mexico, consultant to the International Theological Commission and director of the Observatory of the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate (CEM), expressed his concern about the reform. The priest told ACI Prensa that “what they are going to do is destructure the Judiciary and with that pluralism is over and the balance of powers is over and democracy is over.”