President Sinbaum’s Label votes for “success,” but experts warn criminals to use it to infiltrate the judiciary.
The groundbreaking vote to select Mexican judges has been labelled “success” by the president despite sparse turnout and widespread confusion.
Just 13% of eligible voters voted on Sunday, overhauling the court system. President Claudia Sinbaum declared that the election would make Mexico more democratic, but critics accused her of trying to seize control of the judiciary, while analysts warned that criminals could pave the way for them to seize influence.
The vote was a cornerstone policy for Shainbaum and his predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, aiming to fill the positions of around 880 federal judicial parties, including Supreme Court judges and magistrates.
However, many voters said they struggle to make informed choices amidst floods of largely unknown candidates.
“Majorly empty” polling stations
John Holman of Al Jazeera reported from Mexico City that the polling stations are “largely vacant.”
“The majority of Mexicans prefer to do something else because the government had planned to be a historic day,” he said.
Still, Sheinbaum welcomed the election as a “complete success” and made the country a democratic pioneer.
“Mexico is a country that is becoming more free, fair and democratic because it is the will of the people,” the president said.
The reforms, defended by the supporters needed to cleanse the corrupt judicial system, were originally defended by Simbaum’s predecessor, Lopez Obrador.
“A painstaking process”
Experts warned that voter turnout was unusually low due to the number of candidates and the unfamiliarity with judicial voting.
To be informed properly, voters will “have to spend hours studying their track record and each profile of hundreds of candidates,” said David Schark, a professor at the University of San Diego.
That concern was reflected by voters in polls.
“We’re not very prepared,” said Lucia Calderon, a 63-year-old university teacher. “I think we need more information.”
Francisco Torres de Leon, a 62-year-old retired teacher in southern Mexico, called the process “difficult because there are too many candidates and positions they intend to meet.”
Beyond the logistical challenges, analysts and rights groups raised fears that powerful criminal groups could use elections to infiltrate the judiciary further.
Corruption already exists, but “there is reason to believe that elections can be more easily permeated by organized crime than other methods of judicial choice,” said Margaret Suterthwaite, a UN special reporter on the independence of judges and lawyers.
While all candidates were not supposed to have legal experience, criminal history or “good reputation,” some have been linked to organized crime and corruption scandals.
Rights group Defensorxs has identified around 20 candidates they consider to be “high risk,” including Silvia Delgado, a former lawyer for Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
Another Durango candidate previously served in a US prison for nearly six years for drug crimes.
The election results are expected in the coming days. The second round of judicial elections is scheduled to fill hundreds more positions in 2027.
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