Federico Reyes Heroles
What should be of most concern is the self-assurance. Daring, impudence, audacity, even insolence, says the Royal Spanish Academy. The equivalent would be: I decided it, so what! For the first time in 108 years, the head of the Executive amputates one of the pillars of the Republic. If this affront happens a few months after taking power, what will it be like at the end of its six-year term? We have seen several pathetic endings.
She had had a week of glory for apparently containing the Trump bear by giving Mexico a few weeks of discussion on his proposed tariffs. But before that, a significant group of legislators, both Democrats and Republicans, had already asked Trump for a truce to analyze the impact of his proposal. Also, the automotive industry. But in the face of national public opinion, a Joan of Arc was born, who, days later, without shame, decided to break with a republican ritual. The reason: in her opinion, most of the justices on the Court do not respect the Constitution. In republics and democracies, the Executive, as its name indicates, is there to execute what has been regulated by the legislature and has no objection that leads to the intervention of the Judiciary. That is the function of judges: to interpret and, where appropriate, to uphold or dismiss. The opinion of the head of the Executive about who respects the Constitution and who does not has no weight whatsoever. Even worse, it is an undue intervention in the competencies of another Power.
Then, at a gallop, she equated the Constitution with a “shield” against Trump’s aggressive neo-imperial rudeness. It sounds terrific, nationalism of the strong kind. But Trump’s central point is the obvious alliance of the cartels with the Mexican government. No Constitution can protect criminal activity. Our Constitution is not a shield against the fight against drug trafficking. María Amparo Casar made a comparison as simple as it was devastating: In Peña Nieto’s six-year term, twelve governors were accused of very different crimes, influence peddling or corruption. All twelve were prosecuted and received various sentences. In AMLO’s six-year term, thirteen governors were indicted. None were prosecuted. Complicity? That is the question circulating around the world.
Vox member of the European Parliament Martín Frías pointed out that the judicial reform “contravenes the main democratic standards” and the risk of penetration of the cartels in the organs of the administration of justice. “Sheinbaum thus demonstrates her complicity with drug trafficking and the violence derived from drug trafficking”. He also questioned the allocation of aid and subsidies to Mexico. Impunity could grow, he concluded. Ursula von der Leyen, the solid president of the European Union, issued a statement in which, from the outset, she granted Mexico the right to “choose a judicial system”… but “it must be efficient, effective, impartial and independent”. Only with these requirements will it be “an essential pillar of the rule of law”.
If the aim is to strengthen the Mexican state, let’s respect the laws and their rituals. The ceremony on February 5 at the Teatro de la República is one of them. This year, the head of the executive branch decided, just like that, not to include the judiciary, represented by the president of the Supreme Court. Perhaps the brave woman who stood up to Trump resented the attention falling on another woman. She didn’t want anything to overshadow her celebration. She should have read the ceremony protocol. The three branches of government must stand to salute the flag. But applauding the president in office is a shameful legacy of unbridled presidentialism. With that decision, the Republic, the one with the real birthday, was unnecessarily hurt. What they will say in the world: In Mexico, the judiciary is not respected, but now it’s obvious. The photo will go down in history.
Respect for rituals is a sign of self-control and maturity.
What a shame.
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