Overview
- Gilberto de Guzmán Bátiz assumed a two‑year presidency of the TEPJF after winning the most votes in June’s judicial election, becoming the first popularly elected leader of the tribunal’s Sala Superior.
- He announced five priorities: functional collegiality, a tribunal closer to citizens, rulings that reinforce stability, an ordered administrative reset with budget rationalization that safeguards autonomy, and justice with a human focus.
- The inauguration occurred with the Sala Superior incomplete after Janine Otálora’s departure and with former president Mónica Soto connected remotely, as senior figures from the SCJN and the new Judicial Discipline Tribunal looked on.
- Public scrutiny persists over the election process after the Sala Superior recently revoked INE fines tied to voting guides known as “acordeones,” a controversy that followed low turnout and saw Bátiz deny any role in producing the materials.
- SCJN president Hugo Aguilar defended the reform and the Court’s independence during an event at UNAM where students challenged him over alleged political ties, while former SCJN chief Norma Piña warned that congressional overrepresentation created a “perfect storm” that threatens judicial autonomy.