CNN
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Mexico’s ruling party Morena gains control of the Supreme Court after the country’s first judicial election.
Preliminary results from Sunday’s race were shown by a linked candidate with Morena, who won most of the judicial seats. The victory will bring the party to a firm grip on every department of the government. This is a change that democratic supporters weaken the country’s checks and balance.
Critics also warned that elections themselves pose a risk to democracy, and argued that by electing judges through popular votes, the independent authority of the court can be compromised, thereby having the ability to support the law and to curb crime and corruption that rampify other authority.
About 100 million citizens were eligible to participate in the Sunday event, but only about 13% appeared on the ballot. Experts say the figures reflect the confusion between many positions and voters overwhelmed by candidates.
Víctor Manuel Alarcón Olguín, a research professor at UAM-Iztapalapa University, focusing on political parties and elections, has also lost the way to design the process. He said lawmakers “didn’t provide an adequately well-defined way to electoral authorities, and election officials had to resolve many of these technical issues in turn, at least in order to make the system work.”
Among the nine predicted winners in the Supreme Court race are three seated judges, with former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the founder of Morena. Others include former legal counsel for Lopez Obrador, the current human rights prosecutor for the Attorney General’s Office, and Indigenous lawyers who are expected to become the next president of the court.
“At best, many of these people do not indicate affiliation or such obvious participation in the ruling party, but they have a very diverse range of interests, connections, or at least ideological or manifestation affinity.
All nine candidates appeared in the pamphlet, and Morena members were accused of distributing them to voters to suggest candidates to vote. Election rules prohibit political parties from promoting or supporting judicial candidates.
Morena’s leader, Mexican President Claudia Sinbaum, distanced himself from the pamphlet, condemned its use and sought to ask for an investigation into the matter.
Sunday’s race was the first time any country had held elections at any level of justice. Almost 900 federal posts appeared, including all nine Supreme Court seats and around 1,800 local positions in 19 states. Votes are still counting nationwide, with results expected to be gradually announced next week. In 2027, there will be a second vote for hundreds of other judicial positions.
Sheinbaum labelled the election on Sunday as a successful election.
“In Mexico, voting is voluntary. It’s not mandatory. It’s not mandatory, but it’s not here. Here it is free, direct, universal, and secret. That’s why 13 million people have decided to vote in judicial exercises. That’s a very good thing,” she said.
Lopez Obrador and his party approved the judicial election in September, claiming that popularity votes would help corruption and immunity within the courts.
But critics say Morena was robbing her popularity in order to select like-minded judges with the goal of passing reforms blocked by the earlier, more balanced courts. They also fear that votes could be affected by political actors and criminal groups.
The eight Supreme Court Justice, which had 11 seats at the time, announced her resignation in October and refused to take part in Sunday’s election. Most resignations come into effect on August 31, 2025, the day before the new court begins.
