These are the times that are established in the transitional regime of the reform to the Judicial Branch, which orders the election to be held without secondary laws or electoral regulations expressly for that process, but establishes that the INE can issue the rules it deems appropriate.
According to the schedule, 30 calendar days after the reform comes into force, the Senate of the Republic must issue the call to integrate the lists of candidates who will participate in the extraordinary election to renew the positions of the Judicial Branch of the Federation.
That is, this could happen in the third week of October. The call will trigger other processes, which must be carried out by the INE, but also by the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches.
The three must form an Evaluation Committee to receive and analyze the documents of those who aspire to the positions that are submitted for election and determine the suitable profiles; in this case, a public selection must be carried out to reduce the number of people proposed for election.
According to the reform, each Committee must then submit the proposals to its respective body – the full SCJN and the full Chamber of Deputies and the Senate – as well as to the Executive, for approval and referral to the Senate, which in turn will send them to the INE so that they appear on the ballots.
The approval
Mexican lawmakers on Wednesday gave final approval to a sweeping reform of the judiciary pushed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at the end of his term, amid social pressure and critics who fear it will threaten the rule of law and harm the economy.
The constitutional changes, which have sparked protests, a strike by judicial workers and market volatility, were approved overnight by the Senate after receiving approval from the Chamber of Deputies last week.
In a marathon session that had to be paused and rescheduled when protesters stormed the Senate building, the ruling Morena party and its allies secured the final two-thirds of votes needed to approve it.
For the constitutional changes to come into effect, they had to be approved by at least 17 state congresses, a figure that was reached within hours.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Wednesday expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the legislative vote and rejected criticism of the way it was carried out, with the last-minute favorable vote of an opposition senator who other legislators said had been pressured by the ruling party.
“In politics (…) results count,” he told reporters, repeatedly stating that neither he nor his close long-time collaborator and Morena leader in the Senate, Adán López, would have negotiated with the senator, Miguel Ángel Yunes, of the opposition PAN, to change his vote.
“There are people who change their minds in life. He is simply a politician and he considered it appropriate to act in that way and it was not necessarily a sum of money or a threat in exchange,” added López Obrador.
President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, who will succeed him on October 1, celebrated the approval hours earlier and said that with the election of judges, magistrates and ministers by popular vote, the administration of justice in the country will be strengthened.
“The regime of corruption and privileges is becoming more and more of a thing of the past and a true democracy and a true rule of law are being built. Demos means people, krátos: power. The power of the people,” wrote Sheinbaum, from Morena like AMLO, on her X account.
The backbone of the reform provides for the election by popular vote of more than 6,500 judges and magistrates, including the Supreme Court.
It also reduces the number of justices on the high court from 11 to 9, shortens their terms to 12 years, eliminates the minimum age requirement of 35 and halves the necessary work experience to 5 years.
-With information from Reuters.
