Overview

• About 100 million eligible voters face nine separate ballots to choose 881 federal judicial posts, from district judges to the nine-member Supreme Court, under a 2024 constitutional reform
• United Nations experts and opposition figures warn the multi-ballot system’s complexity could depress turnout and open the process to political or cartel pressure
• Controversial candidates linked to organized crime, including a former lawyer for Joaquín “el Chapo” Guzmán, have advanced to the ballot under rules intended to ensure transparency
• President Claudia Sheinbaum argues that direct popular oversight will clean up a judiciary long plagued by corruption and impunity
• International investors and rights groups remain skeptical that electing judges will strengthen Mexico’s rule of law or reassure markets