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-Editorial
Mexico held its first-ever popular election for federal judicial positions on June 1, a historic shift in the country’s legal system that followed months of political controversy, legal disputes, and nationwide protests.
The election was the result of sweeping constitutional reforms pushed by the ruling coalition Sigamos Haciendo Historia, comprised of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), the Labor Party (PT), and the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM). After securing a supermajority in the Mexican Congress and nearly reaching one in the Senate following the 2024 general elections, the coalition—alongside President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum—pushed forward the “Plan C” initiative to overhaul the judiciary.
President Claudia Sheinbaum commemorated Mexico’s 82nd National Navy Day in Acapulco on Saturday, using the occasion to highlight the country’s first-ever public election of federal judges—a major shift in the Mexican legal system.
“This is a historic day,” Sheinbaum said during the ceremony. “For the first time, the people are electing the judiciary. The Juárez principle becomes a reality: ‘Outside the law, nothing; above the law, no one.’”
Reaffirming her administration’s stance on civil rights, Sheinbaum pledged to uphold freedoms of expression, press, and assembly and stated that state power would not be used to suppress dissent. “We believe in democracy as the power of the people, by the people, and for the people,” she said.
Lizbeth Mata Lozano, the state leader of the National Action Party (PAN) in Baja California, condemned Sunday’s judicial election as a “state-orchestrated farce” rather than a legitimate democratic exercise. She claimed the process was plagued by serious irregularities, including government-coordinated voter mobilization, the distribution of voting guides (known as “accordions”), and the early circulation of candidate lists favoring allies of the ruling party.
Mata Lozano argued that the election lacked transparency and public awareness, asserting that many voters didn’t even know who the candidates were. She emphasized that the PAN could not support what she described as a carefully staged operation to install loyalists of the current administration, rather than selecting independent, qualified judges and magistrates based on merit and integrity.
The June 1 election marked the first time in Mexico’s history that judges were selected by popular vote. The reform replaced the traditional appointment system with a process in which each branch of government evaluates and nominates candidates, who are then elected by the public to fixed terms.
The Supreme Court was reduced from 11 to nine justices, each limited to a single 12-year term. The Federal Judiciary Council was replaced by the Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal. Judges for circuit and district courts were elected for nine-year terms with the possibility of re-election. Electoral tribunal judges and disciplinary members serve six-year terms.
The National Electoral Institute (INE) oversaw the election, which included six ballots per voter. The process divided the country into 60 judicial electoral districts across Mexico’s 32 circuits.
The reform faced legal and political resistance. The judiciary’s evaluation committee halted its work in January 2025 due to an injunction. The Senate later assumed responsibility for nominating candidates, a move that drew controversy and led to the committee’s mass resignation.
The judicial vote has been criticized for transparency issues and alleged political interference. INE received reports of public officials distributing “cheat sheets” for favored candidates in Mexico City and Nuevo León. These cases were referred to the Attorney General’s Office.
Over 317,000 people applied to be election observers—a dramatic increase from 34,000 in 2024. INE rejected more than 38,000 applications due to political affiliations, including over 20,000 linked to the ruling Morena party.
Notably, ballot counting was centralized, eliminating public participation at polling stations. The INE also declined to run the Preliminary Electoral Results Program (PREP), which had previously offered early voting projections. Official results are expected between June 1 and 10.
Opposition parties, former officials, and civil society groups condemned the reform as a threat to judicial independence. Some candidates were found to have criminal records or ties to organized crime. In Durango, all candidates ran unopposed, prompting accusations of a rigged process.
Business magnate Ricardo Salinas Pliego and former President Vicente Fox called for a boycott, alleging electoral fraud. Civic groups like SomosMX, founded by former members of the Marea Rosa protest movement, encouraged citizen oversight and planned mass demonstrations on election day.
The largest protest took place at Mexico City’s Angel of Independence monument, with others held in state capitals across the country.