President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that a controversial plan to allow citizens to directly elect Supreme Court justices and other judges would be among the first constitutional reform proposals to be considered by Congress when recently-elected lawmakers assume their positions in September.
She said there would be “broad consultation” before the judicial reform proposal is discussed by Congress, but was unable to stop the Mexican peso from sliding as she spoke about the plan that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) sent to Congress earlier this year.
Sheinbaum, who won the June 2 presidential election in a landslide, held a press conference late Monday afternoon after what she described as a “very emotional, historic and important meeting” with López Obrador, her political mentor since she served as environment minister in his Mexico City government in the early 2000s.
AMLO is an outspoken critic of Mexico’s judiciary, claiming that it serves Mexico’s corrupt elite rather than the majority of Mexican people.
Sheinbaum told reporters that she would announce a gender-balanced cabinet next week, that she would meet with a delegation of United States government officials on Tuesday and that she intended to accompany AMLO on trips to inspect the current government’s infrastructure projects, such as the Maya Train railroad.
But her main focus — and the topic reporters were most interested in — was the package of constitutional reform proposals the current president submitted to Congress in February.
The 61-year-old president-elect said that the proposed judicial reform as well as proposals to increase pensions for teachers and other public workers, and to prohibit the re-election of all politicians would be the first proposed constitutional changes to be considered by the new Congress.
Sheinbaum, who will take office on Oct. 1, said she expected those reforms to pass Congress “at least in the first months” after the new Congress is sworn in on Sept. 1.
She said that other reform proposals sent to Congress by AMLO would be considered at a later date.
Sheinbaum also said she would put forth two of her own constitutional reform proposals — one that would ensure that all women aged 60 to 64 receive government financial support and another that would guarantee educational scholarships for all public school students.
She said that those initiatives would be a priority as well.
“For the first time we’re going to recognize the work of Mexican women,” the president-elect said after noting that women usually do the majority of household chores.
Sheinbaum, who will be Mexico’s first female president, advocated “a very broad discussion in the entire country” before the different reform proposals are considered by Congress.
In the case of the proposed judicial reform, bar associations, university law faculties, Supreme Court justices, judges and judicial workers should participate in the debate, she said.
Sheinbaum said that people need the opportunity to truly understand Mexico’s judicial system and the proposed reform. She added that López Obrador agreed with the plan to subject his proposed reforms to debate.
Sheinbaum didn’t say whether she would accept modifications to the proposal judicial reform, but stressed that the debate will focus on the initiative as sent to Congress by the current president.
Asked about opposition parties’ positions on the proposals, Sheinbaum simply said they have the right to disagree with them.
The proposed judicial reform and separate proposals to disband a number of government autonomous agencies and make changes to Mexico’s electoral system have spooked markets since it became clear from the June 2 election results that Morena would be able to approve constitutional changes with little or no negotiation with opposition parties. Critics say that the proposals will reduce checks and balances on executive power.
Final election results indicate that Morena and its allies have a two-thirds majority in the Chamber of Deputies, allowing them to pass constitutional changes without opposition support, while they are just a few votes short of a supermajority in the Senate. Morena national president Mario Delgado has expressed confidence that gaining the support of a few opposition lawmakers to approve constitutional reforms will not be an overly difficult task.
When Morena’s leader in the lower house of Congress said last week that the ruling party would seek to hold a vote on the proposed judicial reform in September, the peso promptly took a nosedive.
Sheinbaum’s remarks on Monday had a similar effect, with the peso falling as much as 1.8% to 18.58 to the US dollar after she spoke, according to Bloomberg. The peso was trading at 18.50 to the greenback at midday Mexico City time on Tuesday, about 8% weaker than its pre-election level.
Specifically asked whether she was concerned about the volatility of the peso, the president-elect said she didn’t believe the discussion and eventual approval of the judicial reform would have a negative impact on the currency.
“The president will leave us with very good finances” and the Mexican economy is in “very good” shape, Sheinbaum said.
She declined to disclose whether she would live in the National Palace as president, as AMLO does, or whether she will follow in her predecessor’s footsteps and hold weekday morning press conferences colloquially known as mañaneras.
In other remarks, Sheinbaum committed to having “very good” relationships with state governments, a majority of which are led by Morena governors, and pledged to maintain support for the Plan Sonora renewable energy initiative.
She also said that her meeting with López Obrador would be her first “of many others” as president-elect.
“I’ve always said, it’s an honor to be with Andrés Manuel López Obrador. We’re part of this great project of transformation of our country,” Sheinbaum said.
Mexico News Daily
We can see how well things worked out in Canada the last 8 years with similar socialist dogma. A once prosperous nation now with a declining standard of living. This is not a recipe for building a successful wealthy nation….quite the contrary.
By no means is Mexico following Canada’s footsteps.
By the way, it’s not that AMLO claims that the judicial system benefits the corrupt elite. This is well known and documented. The list is very long of judges letting white collar criminals as well as Narco’s off the hook. This has been the history of the judicial system for many years.
I cannot comment on the Mexican Judiciary but as practicing lawyer for 44 years in Alta California, I can assure you that all State judges from the trial courts to the state.Supreme court are subject to voter confirmation/retention/election. And especially with your comments I do wonder whether the judiciary is unfairly imposed on the people in Mexico
Let the Mexican people run Mexico as they see fit.
A popular vote on Supreme Court judges may not be a bad thing considering the Alito and Thomas scandals.
The comments and frankly the politicians miss the salient point : in the absence of checks and balances business (FDI especially) will be damaged and/or robbed thus dissuading new investment in the face of friend shoring opportunity (never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity)
The direction Mexico is proposing is nothing like what is happening in Canada these days. Thank God.
There is lots of opportunity for anyone and everyone who wants to work hard and play fair to get ahead.
To all these Mexico naysayers, please leave the country to develop how it feels it best should. Claudia Sheinbaum is a patriot and smart woman who received an overwhelming mandate. Give her a chance.
Mexico is a nation where a huge % of its people still live in poverty. My wealthy friends have been saying things like “Mexico will become Venezuela under the Moreno party”. The best way to stop that from happening is for the government to do its best to raise the standard of living for those in the bottom economic class.
I visited Venezuela before the dictator Chavez took over and the country was essentially made up the extremely rich with an almost single source of wealth ,oil, a tiny middle class of mostly those in service to the oil industry and an overwhelming population of the extremely impoverished.
Mexico is not Venezuela Mexico has a varied growing economy and a growing middle class. Helping those at the bottom is what will prevent a Venezuela from happening here.
That said, the new President has her work cut out for her. There is still so much corruption to overcome.