**Sheinbaum: “I Will Not Select Ministers; No Overrepresentation”**
Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, the President-elect of Mexico, announced on the evening of August 29, 2024, that with the proposed reform of the Federal Judicial Branch (PJF), she would relinquish the power to choose the justices of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN). The reform proposes that these positions be filled through a popular vote.
In a 10-minute and 9-second video uploaded to her social media account, Sheinbaum defended the decision made on August 28, 2024, by four magistrates of the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (TEPJF), who approved Felipe de la Mata Pizaña’s project. This decision would grant the self-styled “Fourth Transformation” (4T) a qualified majority in the Lower House of Congress, enabling constitutional reforms, including those of the PJF.
The votes in favor of the project came from magistrates Mónica Aralí Soto Fregoso (president), Felipe Alfredo Fuentes Barrera, Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón, and Felipe de la Mata Pizaña (the proponent). The dissenting vote was cast by Janine Madeline Otálora Malassis.
De la Mata Pizaña proposed qualified majority status in the Lower House for the Morena party and its allies, the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM) and the Labor Party (PT), during the LXVI Legislature starting on September 1, 2024.
“With this reform, the future president would be renouncing the power to appoint the next justices of the Court. What do we do? We put it to a popular vote. The participants in this election will not be those I choose,” reiterated Sheinbaum.
She explained that some ministers would be proposed by the SCJN, others by both houses of Congress, and some by the Executive branch, through an open call, which would then be reviewed by a committee of experts to narrow down a specific number of candidates.
“What does this mean? It means it is possible to amend our country’s Constitution,” Sheinbaum explained. She confirmed that neither the National Electoral Institute (INE) nor the TEPJF had overrepresented any party, emphasizing that they were abiding by the Constitution and the law.
The House of Representatives’ Political Coordination Board (JUCOPO) has approved a four-day process discussion on the PJF reform, starting on September 2, 2024, with a debate scheduled from September 2 to 4, 2024.
In a press conference, Ricardo Monreal Ávila, the coordinator of the Morena parliamentary group and president of JUCOPO, detailed that the Lower House would hold two sessions on September 1, 2024, to publicize and debate the PJF reform.
Monreal emphasized the importance of respectful dialogue among parliamentary groups, including the opposition. He also revealed that the agreement to have the National Action Party (PAN) chair the Lower House for the second year of the LXVI Legislature, and the PVEM for the third year, was reached amicably.
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