Mexico’s Obrador set to enact divisive judicial reforms: What happens next?

Mexico is poised to implement controversial judicial reforms that have divided both the country and its justice system.

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is expected to enact controversial judicial reforms on Sunday, just ahead of Mexico’s Independence Day celebrations.

The reforms have sparked mixed reactions. Supporters argue they will make judges more accountable and praise the opportunity for the public to vote for those responsible for delivering justice. Critics contend this undermines the nation’s system of checks and balances by eroding the independence of the judiciary.t

Here’s what we know as Mexico prepares to implement the reforms.

What is the main purpose of Mexico’s judicial reforms?

The law aims to transform the judiciary from an appointment-based system, primarily focused on their training and qualifications, to one where judges are elected by voters.

According to the government, the main goal of these reforms is to eliminate corruption from Mexico’s judiciary and ensure that it responds to the will of the people.

A bill to bring about the changes was approved by two-thirds of the upper house of parliament on Wednesday, following a contentious all-night debate. The reforms were approved by the lower house earlier this month.

All judges, both federal and state, from the lower rank to the Supreme Court, will be elected by citizens. There are nearly 7,000 positions in total.

The requirements to become a judge have also been reduced.

A law degree and five years of experience are sufficient for all judges except for those serving on the Supreme Court, where 10 years experience is required.

The reforms will also replace professional exams that are currently used to evaluate candidates. The new reform requires good grades and letters of recommendation.

The candidates must provide five letters from neighbours, colleagues or others vouching for their suitability for the role. The candidates are also required to submit an essay of three pages where they justify the reasons for their application.

The first election, covering about half of the judges, is expected to take place in June 2025. The rest should coincide with the regular elections of 2027. However, many details on how the voting will be organised are still unclear.

When these reforms take place, current judges – approximately 7,000 of them – will lose their positions but will then have the opportunity to run as candidates. However, many of the newly elected judges could step into specialised courtrooms they have never previously encountered, resulting in a potentially very challenging role.

Deputies in favour of judicial reform hold signs that read, ‘The people are in command. Reform now!’ [Silvana Flores/AFP]

How are judges currently selected in Mexico?

Judges currently advance to positions in higher courts through periodic reviews.

For the Supreme Court, the upper house of parliament selects its members from a shortlist proposed by the president.

“It is a very important reform,” Lopez Obrador said on Thursday. “It reaffirms that in Mexico there is a true democracy, where the people elect their representatives … not the elites …  not the oligarchy. Everyone, every citizen,” he added.

The Supreme Court is the final arbiter on whether laws and the authorities adhere to the Constitution.

Supreme Court President Norma Lucia Pina at her post in Mexico City after being elected to preside over the country’s top court [File: Mexico’s Supreme Court/AFP]

Is there a problem with justice in the country?

Experts recognise that the current judicial system has problems with corruption. Surveys also suggest that Mexicans have little to no confidence in the judicial system.

However, experts also concur that the problems are more pronounced at the local level rather than at the federal.

“There were no known major corruption cases [at the federal level],” Arturo Ramos Sobarzo, the director of the Center for Investigation and Legal Informatics at Mexico City’s Escuela Libre de Derecho, told Al Jazeera. “Of course, there were problems, and they were addressed. The criticism was mostly at the local level. There, the salaries were not as good, and there was a more critical view of the judiciary.”

According to Mexico Evalua, a think tank that evaluates government policies, Mexico’s justice system suffered from a very high level of impunity in 2022. The index used allows for identifying the system’s ability to provide an effective response to the cases it handles. A high level of impunity means a low rate of both appropriate convictions and cases being brought to court.

The crimes with the highest level of impunity, according to the report, were intentional homicides, femicides, sexual abuse, disappearances and kidnappings.

In the case of intentional homicide, the national average of impunity was 95.7 percent.

But, according to research, it is not just a question of cases before courts not yielding justice  – allegedly due to corrupt judges. In Mexico, more than 90 percent of crimes are never brought to court.

One of the main challenges has to do with prosecutors’ willingness and capacity to investigate.

Nepotism is another significant issue and, according to some experts, a major concern within the judicial system. A recent report revealed that 37 percent of judiciary officials have at least one family member employed in the judiciary.

Members of the National Association of Magistrates and District Judges take part in a protest after the approval by the Senate of the judicial reform [File: Rodrigo Oropeza/ AFP]

With these challenges, why are these reforms so controversial?

Experts say that the reform does not address the fundamental issues with the existing structure and prosecutors, who often lack adequate training and are frequently overwhelmed by their workload.

They also highlight that the new voting process for judges remains unclear and fraught with challenges.

Will voters take the time to research and review the resumes of the hundreds of relatively unknown candidates who could contest each position? Who will fund the candidates’ election campaigns? How many candidates will each ballot have on it? These are all unanswered questions.

“There’s sufficient people that consider that the judicial system doesn’t work well in Mexico,” Miguel Angel Toro Rios, the dean of the School of Social Sciences and Government at Tecnologico de Monterrey, a Monterrey-based university, told Al Jazeera.

He noted that the reforms do not address the main issues in the judicial system, prosecutors, the police or the National Guard.

Those problems can include corruption and, in many cases, chronic underfunding.

“If all of those things remain the same and the only thing you have is different judges… it’s not necessarily a given that they will be better equipped at dealing with these things. It seems like a lot of a hassle for a very limited policy gain,” Toros Rios explained.

Judicial Branch workers, judges, and magistrates on an indefinite strike demonstrate in Tijuana, Baja California State, Mexico [File: Guillermo Arias/AFP]

Experts also fear this new process could be tainted by corruption.

“Citizens primarily turn to local state courts for issues like femicides or civil and criminal matters,” Adriana Delgado, the director of Azteca Opinion at TV Azteca, a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, told Al Jazeera.

“However, nothing gets resolved, and this judiciary reform has been marred by political rather than technical debates.”

“The reform only changes how judges and magistrates are elected by popular vote, which raises concerns about the potential infiltration of organised crime or the influence of political and economic interest groups on the selection process,” Delgado added.

Could voting affect the work of the judges?

According to lawyer Ramos Sobarzo, these reforms place the judicial system in a very challenging position.

For the Supreme Court of Justice, elected judges would serve terms of eight, 11, and 14 years, depending on the voting results.  Those with the most votes will remain in office for a longer period.

“We are very concerned because it will undermine judicial independence in many ways as it will leave some or much of it to popularity,” he added.

“What is going to happen … in the seventh and eighth years, they will start thinking about how to get re-elected.”

“At that point, they might decide not based on the incentives of analysing the case files but on gaining popularity from a particular case. They will decide how it will be received by public opinion,” he explained.

The governing party argues that allowing voters to choose would make judges more accountable to the public and make it easier to punish problematic ones.

Outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador delivers his last State of the Union at the Zocalo, Mexico City’s main square [File: Felix Marquez/AP]

Besides the voting of the judges, what else are the reforms addressing?

The reforms will introduce “anonymous judges” to oversee organised crime cases, shielding their identities to protect them from reprisals, threats or pressure.

They will also reduce the size of the Supreme Court from 11 justices to nine.

They would also create a judicial disciplinary committee with the authority to address not only issues of judicial misconduct such as bribery, mishandling of evidence, or undue delays but also to investigate judges’ legal reasoning.

This aspect is also troubling to experts

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Honeymoon for Mexico’s Sheinbaum tainted by mentor’s reform

MEXICO CITY, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Just three months ago, Claudia Sheinbaum was riding high, winning the largest vote tally ever secured in Mexico’s history to become the country’s first woman president.

The currency was just off a multi-year high, relations with the U.S. amicable, and investors shared a quiet optimism that Sheinbaum could finesse a course correction from her predecessor and mentor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s polarizing style

The summer months since have proved turbulent.

This week, senators are likely to pass a controversial reform to Mexico’s judiciary that critics say both threatens the country’s rule of law and risks spoiling her honeymoon before she even takes office on Oct. 1.

On a self-proclaimed crusade to transform Mexico, Lopez Obrador is using his final days to ram through a reform which will require judges – even Supreme Court justices – to be popularly elected. It is also expected to reduce the level of experience needed to hold judicial posts.

A separate reform, expected to pass before Lopez Obrador leaves power, will abolish several oversight agencies which, like the courts, had provided an occasional check on his hard-charging agenda.

The proposals are seen by opponents as placing an alarming concentration of power in the hands of his ruling Morena party.

Both the fallout and the implementation will fall to Sheinbaum. Suddenly, Mexico’s rosy outlook is wilting.

A ballooning deficit and potential hit to investment from the judicial reform could pose a threat to the country’s investment grade debt rating as well as the welfare spending Sheinbaum promised, and a review of the North American USMCA trade pact looks increasingly ominous.

“She could have started on a very strong note, first woman president – one with a landslide – immensely popular party, economy growing, strong currency,” said Damian Fraser, chief executive of Mexico City-based consultancy Miranda Partners. “But this move to reform the judiciary and strip away the independence from autonomous agencies has made it much more difficult.”

Sheinbaum has publicly supported the election of judges, but sources close to her say it would not have been an immediate priority at the start of her term.

Lopez Obrador argues the overhaul will boost accountability and reduce corruption. Indeed, many agree the current judicial system is deeply flawed.

“The Mexican judiciary is, by most accounts, in desperate need of reform. The question is, is this really the right way to reform it?” said Gustavo Flores-Macias, a specialist in government and public policy at Cornell University.

WHOSE LANDSLIDE?

One challenge for Sheinbaum is the popularity of Lopez Obrador which was instrumental to Sheinbaum and Morena’s huge success at the polls.

That success set the stage for a rockier transition by unexpectedly giving Morena enough votes in the lower house, and almost enough in the Senate, to ram through constitutional changes.

Sheinbaum had carefully walked the tightrope between continuing Lopez Obrador’s most popular policies – such as generous welfare payouts – and hinting at changes to some of his most controversial, like the environment and clean energy.

But the judicial reform has laid bare the limits to that balancing act. Despite pressure from investors and core trade partners Canada and the U.S., Sheinbaum has been unable or unwilling to publicly distance herself from the reform.

The peso has weakened about 17% since June 3. Ratings agency Fitch has said that Mexico will likely struggle to lower its deficit to previous levels and its sovereign rating hinges on governance reforms and Sheinbaum’s fiscal strategies.

The USMCA is also up for review in 2026, with the U.S. warning the judicial reform could impact investment and undermine the trade relationship.

Lopez Obrador was quick to lash out at criticism of the reform by the U.S. and Canadian ambassadors, “pausing” relations with both countries’ embassies in Mexico.

The onus will be on Sheinbaum to turn the page with both countries, especially as she prepares to build a relationship with a new U.S. president post-November, said Jorge Bravo, political scientist at Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM).

“The damage is done,” he said. “So, how are you going to build bridges so the damage is less serious?”

A Mexican tragedy: country’s crippling Covid crisis comes into sharp focus

It took just 83 days for Adriana Mejía to lose half her family, as Covid unleashed a Mexican tragedy whose full impact is only now becoming clear.

First to depart was her father, Juan, a 90-year-old carpenter who died at the family home in Mexico City last July after summoning his eight children to say goodbye. Two weeks later Mejía’s 55-year-old sister, Cecilia, who began feeling unwell as they buried their father, also lost her life. Two days later, on 3 August, Mejía lost her brother, Juan Carlos, then, 13 days after that, her brother-in-law, Germán.

“We’ve gone from rosary to rosary,” Mejía, a 46-year-old graphic designer from Mexico’s sprawling capital, said as she reflected on her family’s agony. “We just didn’t know when it would stop.”

Mexico’s Covid crisis has made fewer international headlines than the catastrophes in the US and Brazil, where almost 900,000 people have died, accounting for about a third of the global total, and the reckless responses of rightwing populists Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro have been condemned. Bolsonaro’s anti-scientific handling of a disease he calls a “bit of a cold” and the spread of a more infectious variant linked to the Amazon has earned his nation particular infamy on the world stage.

But the revelation this week that Mexico’s death toll was far higher than previously reported suggests a calamity of similar proportions has played out under its leader, the populist Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Last weekend Mexican officials discreetly acknowledged more than 294,000 Covid deaths – just shy of Brazil’s official death toll which was then 310,000. Brazil has a much larger population, with 212 million inhabitants compared with Mexico’s 126 million.

Many, however, believe the president’s cavalier approach hampered Mexico’s ability to control its epidemic by confusing citizens – with terrible consequences for families such as the Mejías.

Like Trump and Bolsonaro, López Obrador has downplayed the virus, continued to tour his country and embrace supporters and resisted containment measures such as lockdowns, social distancing and masks. “We’re doing well, the pandemic has been tamed,” the 67-year-old claimed last May when Mexico’s official death toll was about 9,000. In January, as Mexico was plunged into a devastating second wave, López-Gatell was photographed holidaying on an Oaxaca beach despite urging citizens to stay at home.

“When we think about worst performers, I think you rank Mexico, Brazil and the US together now,” said Eduardo González-Pier, a former Mexican health undersecretary. “These are the three big bad performers – and I think that has to do with the way governments responded to the pandemic.

“Before Biden, there were a lot of similarities in how these countries were run and how the pandemic was approached. Bolsonaro, Trump and López Obrador had a similar attitude: the denial, the delayed response, the minimisation of the severity, and also the idea of not suspending activities.”

Many believe that approach helped create a disaster of needlessly large proportions. “I’m not claiming Mexico could have experienced something like Vietnam or Taiwan, which are best performers. But what if they had had just an average type of response with the same mortality you would see from an average country?” asked González-Pier, an economist and health specialist.

“If you do the calculations you see … Mexico could have avoided 100,000 to 200,000 [deaths] … So that is the kind of damage that has been done.”

Phase six of Mexico’s national vaccination plan began in Mexico City on 30 March, 2021. The country’s immunisation campaign is one of Latin America’s earliest. Photograph: Martin Gorostiola/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

The behaviour and mixed messaging of politicians are not the only explanations for Mexico’s drama. Chronic underinvestment in healthcare meant hospitals were not adequately equipped or staffed when the pandemic hit. Some of the world’s highest rates of diabetes and obesitymeant Mexico was especially vulnerable to Covid-19. “It just happened to be a virus that was particularly vicious with the type of chronic conditions that Mexicans have a high prevalence of – uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension, obesity, especially among younger and mature adults. And that, I guess, was bad luck,” González-Pier said.

Public health expert Carlos Alonso Reynoso said he still believed Mexico had fared better than Brazil where “a tragedy of unimaginable proportions” was unfolding and nearly 70,000 people died last month. But Mexico’s “confused and ambiguous” communication had taken a toll. “If the government’s message had been clearer and more concise perhaps the number of cases could have been reduced,” Reynoso said.

Five months after her mother’s death, Mejía said she believed her family had been “victims of the lack of information”. A psychologist is helping her come to terms with her bereavement. “I lost most of my family and yet I couldn’t cry until my mother died and the nightmare was over,” Mejía said. “That was the moment I was finally able to grasp everything that had happened.”

González-Pier said he was encouraged to see Mexico’s immunisation campaign, one of Latin America’s earliest, gathering pace. Mexico’s epidemic has slowed in recent weeks although some fear Holy Week celebrations, when families gather and tourists flock to beaches, could trigger a painful third wave like the one now shaking Chile.

“I think the Mexican population is still highly vulnerable,” the former health undersecretary warned, pointing to research suggesting only a quarter of the country had been exposed to the virus. “I wouldn’t be so sure we are through the worst.

Mexico’s Growing Wine Industry: The Valle de Guadalupe Phenomenon

 

Wine, most of the time, is associated with countries such as France, Italy, or Spain. But in the last couple of years, Mexico has taken a rather unprecedented position in the marketplace. Today, types from Baja California and the zone known as Valle de Guadalupe are considered the pride of their industry.

Because more people learn about the type and quality being produced there, the popularity of the country’s brand is also increasing rapidly. This post unravels the history of Valle de Guadalupe’s growth, and what distinguishes it from others. If you’ve ever felt the thrill of a dose of adrenaline, you’ll know that Bizzo Casino is the gaming platform to go to! It long has a grip on the competitive online gaming market. 

A Brief History

Mexico has been producing wine for quite some time now, even before it was an independent nation. Grapevines arrived there with the Spanish colonization in the 16th century. They started to cultivate vines and produce locally for religious and personal consumption. 

But, later in the 17th century, the Spanish government banned this in its colonies to safeguard its own interests. This stopped their advancement in the sector for many years.

Production only kicked off again in the 20th century, being slowly made on larger and larger scales. Many local producers based in Baja California were experimenting with various types of grapes in the 80s to 90s. Luckily, they learned that the climate in that region and the soil were perfect for growing high-quality crops.

Valle de Guadalupe: The Heart of Mexican Wine

Valle de Guadalupe is now described as similar to California’s Napa Valley. Lying just north of the city of Ensenada, it has now emerged as the wine county of Mexico. Altogether, about 90% of the wine originates from Baja California, of which the majority is made in Valle de Guadalupe.

It has suitable climatic conditions for growing grapes and other related crops. It has a lot of sunny days and cool nights which allows for slow ripening. The area also has a large variation of soil, with clay, sand, and volcanic earth. These conditions facilitated the development of new varieties and styles that people could taste there.

Currently, foodies from across the globe visit the place, all while being enthralled by the beautiful landscapes. Today, they have over one hundred production spots there, from small family-operated places to several industrial-scale operations.

One of the biggest hurdles the scene faces though, is a lack of recognition. Many people around the world are still unaware of their strength and notoriety. This inevitably makes it more difficult for Mexican wineries to compete in the global market. They are largely still a fairly contained industry compared to some of the other internationally known nations.

The Unique Flavors

As for the main types of wines produced there, the following are among the most popular: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Tempranillo. Reds are usually richer with a dark fruity taste, a hint of spice- and some earthy undertones. Whites are usually cleaner, more vibrant, and with citrus and tropical notes.

Honorable Mentions

To top things off, here are a few well-known brands that are gaining recognition for their quality standards:

1. Casa Madero: Dating back to 1597, this is one of the oldest facilities in the Americas. Situated in the Parras Valley, they make reds, whites and rosés.
2. Monte Xanic: One of the leading names in Valle de Guadalupe, they are known for their premium red and whites. They focus on modern techniques and producing high-quality vintages.
3. A. Cetto: This is one of the largest names on the list as they are famous for their affordable yet high-quality options.
4. Bodegas de Santo Tomás: Founded in 1888, they are another of the oldest names as well. Favorites from their range are the deep red wines and clear, crisp whites.
5. Vena Cava: Known for its unique architecture (constructed from old fishing boats), it is a boutique that specializes in innovation and sustainability.
6. Adobe Guadalupe: This spot is known for its excellent red blends and rosés. It also doubles as a luxury bed and breakfast, offering visitors a full wine-country experience.

Sinaloa shootouts sparks fear of intra-cartel war in Mexico

Frank Perez, lead counsel for Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, in El Paso, Texas on Aug. 1, 2024. (Omar Ornelas/The El Paso Times via AP, File)

MEXICO CITY –

 Shootouts in the western Mexican state of Sinaloa have kindled fears that an intra-cartel war is about to break out in the wake of the arrest of legendary trafficker, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, in July.

One soldier and two civilians were killed on Monday, authorities say. Videos widely shared online showed heavily armed gunmen moving on foot or riding trucks in areas around Culiacan, the state capital, while gunfire echoes in the background. Many cars and business have been shot at.

Calm had returned by Tuesday morning, though some shops had closed at midday.

Analysts have predicted a war within the Sinaloa Cartel ever since Zambada’s arrest on July 25. The veteran cartel leader, believed to be in his mid-70s, alleges that a senior member of the Los Chapitos, another faction of the cartel, kidnapped him and then flew him to the United States against his will.

El Mayo and Los Chapitos, a grouping led by the sons of ex-Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, are widely believed to lead the two most powerful factions in the powerful crime syndicate.

One Sinaloa-based security official told Reuters fighters from the Los Chapitos faction entered areas controlled by Zambada to intimidate them. Some media reports, however, suggested that it was fighters loyal to Zambada who attacked Los Chapitos’ faction.

“It is believed that there may be more fighting and that these clashes are between the same two groups (within the cartel),” said America Armenta, an independent Sinaloan journalist in Culiacan.

Mexican authorities sent another 90 special forces soldiers to Sinaloa on Tuesday, taking the number of elite troops dispatched to the state since Zambada’s arrest to nearly 600.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the government is “watching and taking action” to ensure calm.

“It’s a confrontation, and I hope it’s temporary,” Lopez Obrador said in his daily press conference on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Jesus Bustamante and Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Stephen Coates)

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