Mexico’s Top Court Dismisses Proposal to Invalidate Judicial Overhaul

Americas|Mexico’s Top Court Dismisses Proposal to Invalidate Contentious Judicial Overhaul

Mexico’s Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a proposal that would have struck down core parts of a recent overhaul of the country’s courts system, effectively ending any contest against a redesign of the judiciary in which nearly all judges must now be elected instead of appointed.

The dismissal hands a victory to the governing Morena party, which quickly won legislative approval in September for one of the most drastic redesigns of the judiciary in any major country in recent years.

The decision also spares the country’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, the significant dilemma of choosing between recognizing a court decision to strike down the overhaul or siding with other of her party’s leaders, who have said they would ignore such a ruling.

The court’s decision to dismiss the proposal was unanimous after failing to secure the eight votes needed to pass it.

Juan Luis González Alcántara, a justice on the Supreme Court, had put forward the proposal to the court for a last-ditch compromise in a bid, in his view, to preserve a degree of judicial independence and reduce political tensions. He had suggested the election of Supreme Court justices and other judges on high courts, while allowing thousands of other federal and local judges, who are appointed based on years of training, to remain in their jobs.

“I’m extending a hand, opening up the possibility for negotiation, for reflection, an invitation to weigh things carefully,” Justice González Alcántara told The New York Times last week.