Ricardo Pascoe Pierce
The new stage of the movement against judicial reform should focus on promoting its REVOCATION. The National Association of Circuit Magistrates and District Judges (JUFED) agreed to maintain the strike of activities in all the organs of the Federal Judicial Branch. In agreement, the Mexican Association of Women Judges assured that the battle had just begun. The lines of defense start from preserving the workers’ labor rights and the professional judicial career and defending judicial independence as a constitutional power, an essential component of democracy. It also pointed out that the struggle will continue inside and outside Mexico.
What laudable strength and democratic conviction of the workers of the Federal Judiciary! But, for any political and social movement to be successful, it must clearly express its objectives to increase its followers and gain society’s support in general. The demand for the REVOCATION of the judicial reform approved by the Congress of the Union can be the democratic platform that the movement requires to extend the social and political sympathies of broad sectors of Mexican society and beyond national borders. Mexicans always support just causes. Therefore, the efficient and thorough dissemination of the movement’s honorable purposes must be spread with clarity, precision, and forcefulness. We must leave no room for doubt about the just demands of a movement that, due to its structure, representativeness, and breadth, begins with a national character.
What does it mean to demand the REVOCATION of the judicial reform as a justification for the movement, for its call to broad social sectors to join, and for the dissemination of its proposal for a fair, democratic, and necessary judicial reform?
The REVOCATION is based on the arguments previously exposed by multiple spokespersons, speakers, and defenders of the Constitution. Both grassroots workers and Judges, Magistrates, and Justices have explained that the foundations of a democratic society demand the existence of the three Branches to sustain the balances necessary to support a Republic. Without the three independent constitutional Powers actively playing as counterweights among themselves, democracy runs the risk of being lost. AMLO justifies his reform by arguing that it will serve to eliminate corruption. But, with this gibberish, he actually seeks another objective that is more important to him. He seeks the elimination, not of corruption, but of its independence as a constitutional power that counterbalances the other two branches of government. It bothers him, in particular, that the Judiciary has limited his ability to change the Constitution outside the legal procedures.
Along with the above reasoning, the movement defends the existence of the professional judicial career. It is, in fact, a sort of career civil service within the Judiciary, as the best procedure for promoting officials within the judicial and administrative structure, ensuring their professionalism, experience, university degree, technical-legal knowledge, commitment to service, and independence of judgment.
The demand for the REVOCATION of judicial reform is based on these fundamental criteria. On the one hand, they are of political philosophy and the theory of the constitutional spirit, constituting the basis of a democratic Republic. On the other hand, there is the part of the conversion of theory into practice, establishing a system of a professional judicial career that guarantees that the whole is experienced, objective, and independent in its decisions. This system includes mechanisms for monitoring the correct application of rules and laws and offers evaluation procedures for errors, discipline, or correction of improprieties.
Next, the movement demanding REVOCATION must win the battle of popular sympathy. The most recent polls indicate that a minority of public opinion supports judicial reform. Those who continue to support it claim it is because of the President’s influence in his mañaneras. But AMLO has 15 mañaneras left before he retires from the public scene. As of October 1, an even greater drop in support for the reform is foreseeable since neither the voice of the new President nor that of Morena has the political weight and authority of the outgoing President. The “mandate of the people” on judicial reform will likely be further weakened after that date.
Time, and surely some political and economic phenomena looming on the horizon, will play in favor of the REVOCATION. The combination of the extreme violence of drug trafficking in the country, together with accusations of corruption against relevant officials of the outgoing government that may spill over to the incoming one, may drastically reduce the room for maneuver of the new President. The pressures on the treasury, even with the gasolinazo (Increase of gasoline price) that López Obrador leaves to his heir, will force the government to take drastic budgetary measures, which will not please many. As if all this, together, were not enough, pressures from abroad will be strongly felt. The pressures from the international community against the judicial reform have been overwhelming, in the most influential economic and political forums. And Mexico is neither Cuba nor Venezuela, whose governments are not the least bit concerned about living in isolation from the world economy. The Mexican economy is an integral cog in globalization and would collapse if it ceased to play its role in that economic system. Therefore, Mexico cannot simply ignore the world and go on its way to hell on its own.
With a good message and a concerted effort with allies in all areas of society. It is indispensable to summon intellectuals, professional associations, jurists, students from all faculties, journalists and columnists from all possible media, business sectors and “ambassadors to the world” to explain the prevailing situation in Mexico. It is perfectly possible to solidify and expand the movement and its social and political support in the coming months. From now until the beginning of next year will be the decisive time to achieve the goal of the REVOCATION of the judicial reform.
With all of the above, it will be necessary to present an alternative judicial reform. Legally, in Mexico, in order for a REVOCATION of a constitutional reform to proceed, it is achieved by substituting it with another reform. In other words, constitutional reforms cannot be directly revoked, but a new reform that modifies or eliminates the content of the previous reform must be created. Chief Justice Norma Piña presented a proposal, which will serve as the basis for the movement’s own project.
Thus, a new proposal for judicial reform must be presented that responds to the conception of the constitutional democratic Republic to be created. The initiative can be submited by the President of the Republic, by one-third of the legislators of the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate, or by the citizens through participation mechanisms.
It then proceeds through the parliamentary stages of the law: presentation of the initiative, approval in the Congress, ratification by the federal entities and, finally, its publication.
Is it challenging to achieve the REVOCATION of the reform and then the approval of a new one, the product of a majority social consensus? Yes, undoubtedly. But what is at stake is the future of democracy in Mexico. A movement with clear objectives, a broad social support base, and its own judicial reform proposal has everything in front of it to win.
Let’s get to work!
@rpascoep
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