MEXICO CITY — Mexico held its first judicial elections Sunday, stirring controversy and sowing confusion among voters who struggled to understand a process set to transform the country’s court system.
Experts warned of startling low turnout in the lead up to the historic elections due to the mindboggling array of unfamiliar choices and the novelty of voting for judges.
Experts say those factors may throw into question the legitimacy of the election, which has faced months of fierce scrutiny.
“Mexico is a country that is only becoming more free, just and democratic because that is the will of the people.”
‘You have to start with something’ The public has been plagued by confusion over a voting process that Patin warned has been hastily thrown together.
MEXICO CITY — On Sunday, Mexico held its first judicial elections, igniting debate and leaving voters perplexed as they tried to comprehend a procedure that would revolutionize the nation’s legal system.
The question of what will happen to Mexico’s judiciary loomed large as poll workers started counting colored ballots Sunday night. The answer will only become clear in the days ahead as the results are in.
Only 13 percent of Mexico’s 100 million voters cast ballots, according to a late-night announcement from the country’s electoral authority. This is far less than the 60 percent turnout that occurred during the country’s presidential election just a year prior.
President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, however, referred to the vote as “a complete success.”. “.”.
In her words, “Mexico is the most democratic country in the world.”.
In the run-up to the historic elections, experts cautioned that the novelty of voting for judges and the overwhelming number of unfamiliar options would result in a startlingly low turnout. According to experts, those elements could cast doubt on the election’s legitimacy, which has been under intense scrutiny for months.
The criticisms were dismissed by Sheinbaum, a member of Morena, the ruling party in Mexico, who maintained that the election would only strengthen democracy and eradicate corruption in a system that the majority of the populace believes is flawed.
She asserted, “Anyone who claims that authoritarianism exists in Mexico is lying.”. “Mexico is a nation that is becoming more democratic, free, and just as a result of popular will. “.”.
Many more voters expressed a profound sense of apathy, citing disillusionment due to decades of corruption and a lack of basic information about the vote, while some claimed they felt pressured to cast their ballots in an election they believed would decide the future of the nation’s democracy.
“I have no desire to vote. The messages and parties that come and go. Walking his dog, 50-year-old Raul Bernal, a factory worker in downtown Mexico City, said, “It’s all the same.”.
It was a historic vote.
Even without the final count, Mexic will be changed by the outcome of the vote.
O’s court system. Late last year, Morena restructured the court system, sparking demonstrations and accusations that the change was an attempt by the ruling class to capitalize on their political support and take over the branch of government that had previously been out of their grasp.
The head of the Mexican legal group Juicio Justo, Laurence Patin, stated, “It’s an attempt to control the court system, which has been a sort of thorn in the side” of those in authority. However, there is a counterbalance in every robust democracy. “.
Mexican voters have cast ballots to select from approximately 7,700 candidates running for more than 2,600 judicial positions, rather than selections based on experience and merit.
Voters in Mexico go to the polls.
During the day, small lines formed at some of the nation’s polling places, and only a trickle of people showed up.
Esteban Hernández, a 31-year-old veterinary student, stated that he did not support Morena and disagreed with the appointment of judges, but he went to cast his ballot because “my vote will count more since there isn’t much participation.”. “,”.
He selected those with doctorates after researching the applicants on a website that listed their credentials. Some detractors claimed that they only supported the Supreme Court and other important courts.
The procedure is “painstaking because there are too many candidates and positions that they’re going to fill,” according to Francisco Torres de León, a 62-year-old retired teacher in southern Mexico. “,”.
In Chiapas close to his ranch, Sheinbaum’s predecessor and political mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had pushed through the judicial reform but had been out of the spotlight since leaving office last year, cast his ballot.
“I wanted to go to this historic election,” he declared. Never in our nation’s history have the people made the decision or had the authority to choose judges. “.”.
democratic issues.
Concerns have been raised by the procedure.
Local officials who were forced to resign from their positions due to corruption scandals and attorneys who represented some of Mexico’s most feared cartel leaders are among the candidates that civil society organizations like Defensorxs have raised concerns about.
Former prisoners serving lengthy sentences for smuggling drugs into the United States and a group of candidates connected to a religious organization whose spiritual leader is incarcerated in California after entering a guilty plea to sexually abusing children are also running.
People like Martha Tamayo, a former congresswoman and lawyer from conflict-torn Sinaloa, questioned predictions that the election would give criminals and criminal organizations even more power because they already have a strong hold on the courts.
“The influence of criminal groups already exists,” she stated. “Whether the judges are elected or not, the cartels support them by bribing them. “.”.
“You must begin with something.”.
Patin cautioned that the voting process was hurriedly put together, leaving the public bewildered. In many cases, voters must select from over a hundred candidates who are not allowed to openly express their party affiliation or engage in extensive campaigning.
Some Mexicans who cast ballots on Sunday stated they supported the process in spite of the confusion, but many others claimed they were going into the vote blind.
The electoral authority in Mexico has looked into voter guides that are being distributed throughout the nation, which some claim are a clear attempt by political parties to sway the vote in their favor.
According to Patin, “political parties weren’t just going to sit with their arms crossed.”.
The 61-year-old actor Manuel José Contreras defended the election, Sheinbaum, and her party, but he does not yet know whether his vote would help many Mexicans access justice. He voted in an optimistic manner.
He stated, “We needed an urgent change, but the reform has its problems.”. “You must begin with something. “.”.
