From the start, the reforms have been controversial. 1000’s of court docket employees went on strike to protest the constitutional modification. Some protesters even stormed the Senate building.
Critics accused the Morena celebration of searching for to strengthen its grip on energy by electing sympathetic judges. Already, the celebration holds majorities in each chambers of Congress, in addition to the presidency.
Opponents additionally feared the elections would result in unqualified candidates taking workplace.
Beneath the brand new rules, candidates should have a legislation diploma, expertise in authorized affairs, no prison file and letters of advice.
Candidates additionally needed to move analysis committees, comprised of representatives from the chief, legislative and judicial branches of presidency.
And but, a number of the remaining candidates have nonetheless raised eyebrows. One was arrested for trafficking methamphetamine. One other is implicated in a homicide investigation. Nonetheless extra have been accused of sexual misconduct.
Arias suspects that some candidates slipped via the screening course of as a result of restricted assets obtainable to organise the election.
She famous that the Nationwide Election Institute had lower than 10 months to rearrange the elections, because the reforms have been solely handed in September.
“The timing may be very rushed,” she stated.
Probably the most controversial hopefuls in Sunday’s election is Silvia Delgado, a lawyer who as soon as defended the cofounder of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman.
She is now campaigning to be a decide in Ciudad Juarez, within the border state of Chihuahua.
Regardless of her high-profile consumer, Delgado informed Al Jazeera that the scrutiny over her candidacy is misplaced: She maintains she was solely doing her job as a lawyer.
“Having represented this or that individual doesn’t make you a part of a prison group,” she stated.
Relatively, she argues that it’s Mexico’s incumbent judges who should be underneath the microscope. She claimed lots of them received their positions via private connections.
“They obtained in via a advice or via a member of the family who obtained them into the judiciary,” she stated.
President Sheinbaum has likewise framed the elections as a part of the battle towards nepotism and self-dealing within the judicial system.
“That is about combating corruption,” Sheinbaum said in considered one of her morning information briefings. “That is the defence of the Mexican folks for justice, for honesty, for integrity.”