Electoral Reform, 40-hour workday and faceless judges, tasks for Congress in 2026

And in the Chamber of Deputies…

In the Lower House there are also pending issues and one is the initiative of Electoral Reform that President Claudia Sheinbaum orders, which is expected to establish the disappearance of the Public Local Electoral Bodies (Oples), the reduction of legislators by proportional representation or “pluris” and the reduction of the budget of political parties.

The president has said that the proposal – prepared by the Presidential Commission for Electoral Reform, headed by Pablo Gómez Álvarez – will be delivered in “mid-January” in order to be analyzed during this regular period of sessions.

These modifications are expected to be applied in the 2027 elections, when 17 governors and 500 federal deputies will be elected, so legislators must approve these changes no later than May, since the Constitution prohibits promulgating new electoral rules 90 days before the start of the electoral year.

Another reform that will be discussed in the lower house is related to the modifications to the Federal Penal Code regarding sexual abuse. Article 260 establishes that this crime is committed by anyone who, without the consent of the victim and without the purpose of engaging in copulation, performs any act of a sexual nature in the public or private sphere, forces her to observe it, or has her perform it for a third party or for the active subject himself.

This modification occurred after the attack that President Claudia Sheinbaum suffered by a man on November 4 in the Historic Center of Mexico City.

This reform – which was approved in the Senate – indicates that a sexual act is understood as touching, caressing, body rubbing, exhibitions or explicit sexual representations.

It is clarified that consent is not considered when the person’s will has been annulled or vitiated by violence, intimidation, deception, threat, abuse of trust, authority or situation of vulnerability, nor can consent be presumed from the victim’s silence, passivity or lack of physical resistance.

This Chamber also has pending the ruling on the reform of article 35 of the Constitution to advance the consultation of revocation of mandate for 2027 and make it coincide with the midterm and judicial elections.

The proposal was presented in mid-September by the Morenoist deputy Alfonso Ramírez Cuéllar, under the argument of saving economic resources.

This consultation is established in the Federal Mandate Revocation Law. Through this mechanism, citizens request a consultation to determine if the ruler continues in his position or if he should be removed in advance due to loss of confidence.

To carry out the consultation, signatures must be collected from at least 3% of the people registered on the Nominal List of Voters.

Another proposal that is planned to be discussed in San Lázaro is the elimination of the constitutional jurisdiction to senators, deputies and governors, which has been in the “freezer” since last March.

The proposal was also presented by the vice coordinator of the Morena bench, Alfonso Ramírez Cuéllar, as he considered that it is “unjustified protection, excessive privilege and a way for acts of arbitrariness that provoke social anger.”

With the disappearance of the jurisdiction, which is a constitutional protection, these officials can be detained and tried by the judicial authorities if there are charges against them, so it will no longer be necessary for the Chamber of Deputies to issue the declaration of provenance if these happen.

In addition, the Chamber of Deputies must launch the call to renew or ratify the head of the Auditor of the Federation (ASF), a position held since 2018 by David Colmenares Páramo. Also, legislators must renew the advisory electoral officials, who conclude their period of responsibility at the head of the National Electoral Institute (INE).