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3mo ago

Mexico Opens First Nationwide Vote to Elect Judges

Advocates say it empowers citizens to clean up the judiciary with detractors warning that elected judges could bow to political and criminal pressures

Posters displaying candidate and election information in front of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation in Mexico City, Mexico, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. Mexican voters for the first time will elect their judges in a process involving thousands of little-known candidates that could drastically change the balance of power in the country. Photographer: Stephania Corpi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A voting station inside a Mexico City high school is pictured.
Supporters of Lenia Batres, who is running for election for the Mexican Supreme Court, cheer her on during her closing campaign rally in Mexico City, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Yasmin Esquivel, who is running for election for the Mexican Supreme Court, speaks to supporters at her closing campaign rally in Mexico City, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Overview

  • More than 7,700 candidates are vying for over 2,600 judicial posts on May 30, including all nine seats on the Supreme Court and thousands of lower-court positions.
  • The elections stem from a constitutional reform driven by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and promoted by President Claudia Sheinbaum to tackle corruption and impunity in the courts.
  • Judicial workers, legal experts and opposition figures have held mass protests and urged a boycott, arguing the process weakens independent checks on Morena’s dominant political influence.
  • Rights group Defensorxs has identified candidates linked to organized crime or with histories representing high-profile cartel figures, heightening fears of criminal interference in the judiciary.
  • Surveys indicate that barely half of voters know the election date and turnout may be low, while electoral authorities are probing reports of party-linked pamphlets guiding judicial choices.