Jufed begins its work stoppage; they seek a dialogue table

Gustavo Castillo and Cesar Arellano

The newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, August 21, 2024, p. 4

The National Association of Circuit Magistrates and District Judges of the Judicial Branch of the Federation (Jufed) issued a Formal declaration of suspension of activities for an indefinite period in all federal courts and tribunals, which began at the first minute of this Wednesday, and indicated that it will maintain its strike until Congress sets up a negotiating table.

This reform not only threatens justice, it endangers the very security of the nation, an independent judiciary, conversions will be affected, trust in institutions will crumble, human rights will be at the mercy of a centralized and authoritarian state machinery. We are heading towards an unprecedented crisis, one that if not stopped will leave deep scars in the social fabric.said the president of Jufed, Juana Fuentes Velázquez, during the start of the indefinite strike.

For these reasons, he said, we have decided, together with hundreds of judges committed to justice, to suspend judicial work indefinitely throughout the country, starting this August 21, as a legitimate act of resistance against this reform and until it is discarded, to make way for the construction of a comprehensive reform of the justice system, which we would undoubtedly join. He asserted that This attempt to concentrate power in one person is not only a direct affront to judicial independence but also a mortal blow to the democracy that so many before us fought to establish and protect.. A legislative reform promoted by the President and processed by a parliamentary majority threatens to undermine the very pillars on which the rule of law is based..

The Federal Judicial Council (CJF) published a circular in which it reported that recognizes the situation and takes note of various notices and suspension of work notices due to the strike, and that in in order to preserve the exercise of the public service of administering justicewill be attended to urgent casesBut it was not until yesterday that the list of courts and tribunals in each region of the country that will handle the matters considered imperative was published.

This reform not only threatens justice, it endangers the very security of the nation, an independent judiciary, conversions will be affected, trust in institutions will crumble, human rights will be at the mercy of a centralized and authoritarian state machinery. We are heading towards an unprecedented crisis, one that if not stopped will leave deep scars in the social fabric.said the president of Jufed, Juana Fuentes Velázquez, during the start of the indefinite strike.

He stated that This attempt to concentrate power in one person is not only a direct affront to judicial independence but also a mortal blow to the democracy that so many before us fought to establish and protect.. A legislative reform promoted by the President of the Republic and processed by a parliamentary majority threatens to undermine the very pillars on which the rule of law is based..

The full Judiciary has not been summoned in an extraordinary session to analyze the work stoppage in 972 bodies headed by 1,656 judges or magistrates, and to establish a strategy to address this situation.

Yesterday, during a private session of the plenary session of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Minister Norma Lucía Piña Hernández was questioned by her peers about her position regarding the strike, since she is also president of the PJF and therefore of the CJF, and She replied that the workers are self-employed and she cannot do anything. She added that it is a matter for the CJF and not the Court. This stopped any analysis of the issue, since the ministers’ concern about this strike was made clear. She replied that she personally has no position.said members of the Court who participated in the meeting.

In circular 16/2024, the CJF reported that the Federal Criminal Justice Centers will address the following: determinations regarding the classification of detentions, links to proceedings, the implementation and modification of precautionary measures related to preventive detention and determinations on extradition.