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Mexico will amend its constitution this weekend to require all judges to be elected

Mexico is poised to amend its constitution this weekend to require all judges to be elected as part of a judicial overhaul championed by the outgoing president but slammed by critics as a blow to the country’s rule of law.

The amendment passed Mexico’s Congress on Wednesday, and by Thursday it already had been ratified by the required majority of the country’s 32 state legislatures. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he would sign and publish the constitutional change on Sunday.

Legal experts and international observers have said the move could endanger Mexico’s democracy by stacking courts with judges loyal to the ruling Morena party, which has a strong grip on both Congress and the presidency after big electoral wins in June.

Kusimulkku ,

This doesn’t seem like a great idea, if you ask me

ryven ,
@ryven@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

There seems to be something contradictory about the idea that letting people elect judges endangers democracy. If you don’t trust the people to elect judges, how can you trust them to elect the people who appoint judges?

Lesrid ,

What many democracies around the world are missing is greater recallability in offices. Citizens need to be able to easily oust people nonviolently.

Belgdore ,

Short terms of office should have the same effect. If you want to stay in power you should have fight for it.

x00za ,

Electing judges is stupid. Judges should be neutral and uphold the current laws. It is up to the elected parties / president / groups to make sure all Judges are neutral. If you can vote on Judges that mean they have a political power that has nothing to do with their job.

Belgdore ,

US Supreme Court Justices are not elected. They make a lot of political decisions beyond just upholding the status quo. There are almost a lot of US states that have judicial elections and they don’t have major crises because of it.

psycho_driver ,

Hey it’s like me and my older brother. I avoided all sorts of trouble by watching him make dumb mistakes and learning from them.

nevemsenki ,

Speedrunning populism, let’s see how that goes. Cartels electing judges is my bet.

WhatAmLemmy ,

If that’s the case then the Cartels already elect/make most of the politicians — whom select the judges — so there’s not really much of a difference, is there?

KillerTofu ,

Is it worse than having judges appointed for life?

unexposedhazard ,

Depends on who will elect them and how the voting process works.

paf0 ,

I would prefer appointments approved by Congress with both term limits and a maximum age. Judges should have minimal political incentive.

Cosmonauticus ,

Wouldn’t that just make it partisan? The only way any system of appointing judges can work is if its all done in good faith. Considering the corruption in Mexico you seem fucked either way. Not that America is any better.

paf0 ,

I think it’s going to be partisan regardless. Unfortunately, from this article, it’s not clear to me the length of their term. If they constantly have to seek reelection then I believe it would be even more partisan than being appointed for a set term.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

You can have judges appointed and term limit them. It’s not an either/or.

Jaderick ,

IIRC before these changes take affect, Mexico’s President appoints (at least supreme) court judges who have tenure for 15 years. The ruling party is arguing for these changes to combat corruption. Rumor is that the Mexican legal system is corrupt af, and I haven’t seen any alternatives proposed by the opposition in (English) coverage of the protests, but we’ll see how electing judges goes I guess.

Stern ,
@Stern@lemmy.world avatar

No system is 100% resistant to shitters.

Life appointment was supposed to get judges to focus on issues and not make decisions with re-election in mind. Supreme court in the U.S. has shown us how that is going.

Womble ,

Thats a problem with political appointments by the president not life terms.

Stern ,
@Stern@lemmy.world avatar

Federal appointments still have to be approved, and even with SCOTUS they can still get rejected, e.g. Bork

en.wikipedia.org/…/Robert_Bork_Supreme_Court_nomi…

Thomas was close to rejection too owing to Anita Hill’s testimony

en.wikipedia.org/…/Clarence_Thomas_Supreme_Court_…

Kecessa ,

Hehehe, Bork

moody ,

My son is also named Bork.

Kecessa ,

My condolences to him

Womble ,

But the vast majority of the time they are approved, and the nomination begins with politicians. Contrast this to the way the UK does it where the appointments come from the senior judges with politicians then approving or rejecting the proposed new member.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Bork was nothing compared to Harriet Miers. Probably the least qualified person ever nominated to SCOUTS.

en.wikipedia.org/…/Harriet_Miers_Supreme_Court_no…

wjrii ,

And yet very possibly not the worst person nominated for that specific vacancy.

Samuel Alito, a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, was nominated four days after her withdrawal and subsequently confirmed.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Oh nowhere near the worst. Just the least qualified.

girlfreddy ,
@girlfreddy@lemmy.ca avatar

deleted_by_author

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    MicroWave OP , (edited )
    @MicroWave@lemmy.world avatar

    Huh? All federal judges in the US (Supreme Court justices, court of appeals judges, and district court judges) are nominated.

    Even at the state level, it’s a mix of election and nomination based on the vacancy.

    girlfreddy ,
    @girlfreddy@lemmy.ca avatar

    My mistake. Sorry for that. I should have looked into it further.

    Mereo ,

    Not necessarily. In Canada, an independent advisory board reviews applications and provides a shortlist of candidates. The Prime Minister selects a nominee from this list. The nominee may participate in a public hearing before being officially appointed.

    That is why it has not been a partisan issue so far.

    FrostyTheDoo , (edited )

    The way US politics has gone the last 30 years, the advisory board would be politicized and polarized within 3 election cycles, no matter how the board itself is selected.

    atzanteol ,

    Probably. You’re now going to have judges raising money to campaign. And the average on-the-street voter knows fuck-all about what qualifies somebody to be a judge, so they’re unlikely to pick better candidates.

    Aurenkin ,

    What qualifies someone to be a judge is simply redefined to be what is popular. A judge should therefore no longer follow the law, but make the ruling most in line with what is popular. Under a voting system that is the sole qualifier.

    atzanteol ,

    Which is what the legislature is for.

    LadyAutumn ,
    @LadyAutumn@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

    I’m not sure what you could mean here. What qualifies someone to hold any political office is their conduct and their rulings and how those are interpreted is by what the people believe is fair.

    When a judge sentences someone 5 years for Marijuana possession, the popular opinion can deem them to be unfair. They won’t get re-elected if people view their rulings as unfair.

    Judges interpret law. They’re not 100% the same or they could be automated. How they interpret that law has biases and their rulings can be unpopular. They should be subject to democratic election.

    But I’m an anarchist and believe in direct democracy. Judges without elections have a pretty free hand to be racist or misogynist pieces of trash. The judicial system is fundamentally broken. The public deserves a controlling power over it.

    Artyom ,

    Limited term appointments is the best tool you can have to get rid of cartel-friendly judges.

    MediaBiasFactChecker Bot ,

    Associated Press - News Source Context (Click to view Full Report)Information for Associated Press:
    > MBFC: Left-Center - Credibility: High - Factual Reporting: High - United States of America
    > Wikipedia about this source

    Search topics on Ground.Newshttps://apnews.com/article/mexico-economy-remittances-lopez-obrador-sheinbaum-12b6b34283c65248313275e6496f1fd7
    https://apnews.com/article/president-andres-manuel-lopez-obrador-judicial-overhaul-democracy-protests-7c13b20ef398264378dcdf1971a9a5d2
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