(5 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mexico City, Mexico - 04 September 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Megan Janetsky, The Associated Press:
"A proposed overhaul of Mexico’s court system has triggered weeks of protests and raised the hackles of observers who say it may pose a risk to the country’s democracy. The judicial reform, championed by outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his Morena party, would have all judges elected by popular vote. López Obrador, who has openly fought with the judiciary throughout his presidency, has hailed the reform as a way to crack down on corruption. Critics say it would do the opposite. Because of Morena’s massive electoral wins earlier this year, they say the reform could allow it to stack courts in the party’s favor and deal a blow to the system of checks and balances. As a result, judges, court workers, students and more have all joined strikes against the overhaul. Investors and financial institutions have been spooked. And U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar warned that the proposal could endanger the longstanding relationship between the two countries. Now, as the overhaul works its way through Mexico’s Congress, Mexicans are left wondering what the overhaul’s real impacts will be."
++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
Mexico’s ruling party says judges in the current court system are corrupt, and wants to push through a extreme proposal to make the country’s entire judicial branch — some 7,000 judges — stand for election.
While some countries like Switzerland and the United States elect some judges indirectly or at the local level, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wants citizens to vote on every single judge, appeals court member and justice all the way up to the Supreme Court.
The president has clashed repeatedly with judges throughout his six-year term, which ends Sept. 30.
In its present form, the overhaul has drawn criticism domestically and from abroad, and leaves a lot of questions to be answered.
Here is a look at some of the biggest issues at stake:
How would the elections work?
People would only need a law degree, decent grades, five years of undefined "judicial area experience" and a letter of recommendation from friends or neighbors to run for some judgeships. The candidates’ applications would be whittled down by a committee of experts, and the names of the finalists would then be drawn from a hat, in some cases.
But many details remain unclear, including, for example, how many names would be on the ballots. Hundreds, or potentially thousands, of relatively unknown people could be running for these positions.
Would voters research and read the resumes of all these people, or would political parties simply hand out a list of their preferred candidates to supporters?
It is also not clear who would pay for the candidates' election campaigns.
While the proposal sets limits on campaigning and spending, people who are willing to finance a judgeship candidate may well be those who have a vested interest in court cases.
How does someone become a judge now?
Judges and court secretaries (something like assistant judges) currently work their way up to higher positions by periodic reviews and evaluation committees. At the highest levels, some are nominated or selected by the legislative or executive branches.
What else would the overhaul do?
It would create so-called "faceless" judges to hear organized crime cases, to protect their identities and avoid reprisals, threats or pressure against them.
How would it be implemented?
Could the overhaul work?
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