2025 Mexican judicial elections

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2025 Mexican judicial elections
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1 June 20252027 

9 Supreme Court justices
2 magistrates of the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary
15 magistrates of the Regional Chambers of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary
5 members of the Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal
464 circuit court magistrates
386 district court judges

The 2025 Mexican judicial elections will be held on 1 June 2025, during which voters will elect nine Supreme Court justices, two magistrates of the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary, 15 magistrates of the Regional Chambers of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary, five members of the Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal, 464 circuit court magistrates, and 386 district court judges. [1] It will be the first judicial election in Mexican history.

Contents

Background

Judicial reform

Following the 2024 Mexican general election, the Sigamos Haciendo Historia coalition secured a supermajority in the Chamber of Deputies and came three seats short in the Senate. The coalition, along with its presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum, campaigned on enacting a package of constitutional reforms known as "Plan C". [2] One of its key proposals was the popular election of the federal judiciary, which outgoing president Andrés Manuel López Obrador claimed would eliminate corruption. [3]

On 1 September 2024, the bill was introduced in the LXVI Legislature of the Mexican Congress, triggering nationwide protests and strikes over concerns that it would undermine judicial independence. [4] Despite opposition, it passed the Senate on 11 September and was promulgated by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on 15 September. [5]

The reform replaced the country's appointment-based system for selecting judges with one where judges, pre-selected by the Congress, are elected by popular vote, with each judge serving a renewable nine-year term. It reduced the number of Supreme Court justices from 11 to 9 and limited their terms to 12 years. It also replaced the Federal Judiciary Council with the Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal. [6] A subsequent law set the election date for 1 June 2025. [7]

Electoral system

The National Electoral Institute (INE) oversees federal elections in Mexico. Its responsibilities include organizing election day logistics, producing and distributing electoral materials, counting votes, and certifying the election results.

Voters must present their voter ID at polling stations to cast their ballots.

Judicial election

All judicial positions are elected by plurality voting. Members of the Supreme Court are elected for a single twelve-year term, [8] members of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary for single six-year terms, [9] and members of the Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal for single six-year terms. [10] Circuit court magistrates and district court judges are elected for nine-year terms, with the possibility of a single consecutive reelection. [11]

Article 96 of the Constitution mandates that each branch of government establish an evaluation committee composed of five jurists. These committees are responsible for assessing and filtering prospective candidates, who may choose the branch under which they wish to register. Each committee is tasked with selecting a third of the candidates for each position up for election. Candidates must be submitted to the National Electoral Institute (INE) by 12 February. [12]

Candidate selection

Selection of judicial offices

On 12 October 2024, the Senate conducted a lottery to determine the offices up for election. The draw resulted in 464 circuit court magistrates and 386 district court judges holding odd-numbered positions being selected for the election. [13] The remaining offices will be elected in 2027.

Evaluation committees

On 31 October 2024, each branch of government revealed the jurists selected to form their respective evaluation committees. [14] The executive branch received 18,447 applications, the legislative branch received 11,904, and the judicial branch received 3,805. [15] After assessing the suitability of each applicant, the executive branch shortlisted 11,015 candidates, the legislative branch 7,060, and the judicial branch 1,046. [16]

On 7 January 2025, the evaluation committee of the judicial branch suspended activities after a judge granted a constitutional relief injunction ( amparo) ordering the halt of any implementation of the judicial reform. [16] [17] On 22 January, the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (TEPJF) ruled that amparos could not be applied to electoral processes and ordered the committee to resume its work. [18] The committee refused to comply, which prompted the TEPJF to direct the Senate's Board to select the judicial branch's candidates via sortition. [19] On 28 January, all members of the judicial branch's committee resigned. [20]

Executive branch

Legislative branch

  • Maday Merino Damián
  • Maribel Concepción Méndez De Lara
  • Ana Patricia Briseño Torres
  • Andrés Norberto García Repper Favila
  • María Gabriela Sánchez García

Judicial branch

  • Mónica González Contró
  • Emma Meza Fonseca
  • Emilia Molina de la Fuente
  • Wilfrido Castañón León
  • Luis Enrique Perea Trejo

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References

  1. Jornada, La; Martínez, Lilian Hernández y Fabiola (11 September 2024). "INE comienza a preparar ruta para elección en 2025 de jueces, ministros y magistrados". La Jornada (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  2. Luis, Emanuel Landeros / El Sol de San. "Claudia Sheinbaum quiere "carro completo" y pide votar por el Plan C". El Sol de México (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  3. Raziel, Zedryk; Breña, Carmen Morán (1 September 2023). "López Obrador arremete contra el Poder Judicial en su quinto informe de Gobierno: 'Tienen convivencias inconfesables'". El País México (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 September 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  4. Romero, Simon; Rodríguez Mega, Emiliano (19 August 2024). "Mexico's Judges Vote to Strike, Opposing Overhaul of Legal System". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  5. ""Con el pueblo todo": AMLO firma decreto de la Reforma Judicial junto a Sheinbaum para celebrar el Grito de Independencia 2024". sdpnoticias (in Spanish). 16 September 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  6. "Mexico president signs contested law to elect all judges – DW – 09/16/2024". dw.com. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  7. Figueroa, Por Héctor (10 October 2024). "Senado aprueba leyes reglamentarias de la reforma judicial, va a diputados". Excélsior (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  8. Constitución Politica de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Artículo 94. 1917 (México).
  9. Constitución Politica de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Artículo 99. 1917 (México).
  10. Constitución Politica de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Artículo 100. 1917 (México).
  11. Constitución Politica de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Artículo 97. 1917 (México).
  12. Constitución Politica de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Artículo 96. 1917 (México).
  13. "Como en la Lotería: Así quedaron los resultados de la 'tómbola judicial' para 2025". El Financiero (in Spanish). 13 October 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  14. "Sheinbaum Conforma Comité de Evaluación para la Elección de Juzgadores del Poder Judicial". N+ (in Mexican Spanish). 31 October 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  15. EFE (25 November 2024). "Más de 34,000 aspirantes se inscriben en la primera elección judicial de México". Diario de Yucatán (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  16. 1 2 Guillén, Beatriz (8 January 2025). "Nuevo choque por la reforma judicial: el Comité de Evaluación del Poder Judicial frena la selección de candidatos". El País México (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  17. "Comité de Evaluación del PJF frena los procesos de la elección judicial". www.proceso.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  18. Zepeda, Aurora (22 January 2025). "Comité de evaluación del Poder Judicial debe reanudar trabajos: TEPJF". Excélsior (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  19. "Senado Tomará Funciones del Comité de Evaluación del Poder Judicial en Elección de Juzgadores". N+ (in Spanish). 27 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  20. "Renuncia del Comité de Evaluación del Poder Judicial: ¿Una Crisis Institucional?". MVS Noticias (in Spanish). 28 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.