Four ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation have been asked to recuse themselves from participating in the discussion about the election of judges by the Electoral Tribunal of the Judiciary of the Federation. One of the magistrates, Javier Laynez Potisek, expressed his disagreement with this request, mentioning that this decision was made after the four ministers, including the president of the Court, Norma Piña, expressed their opinions for or against the judicial reform.
According to Laynez Potisek, the reason for disqualification invoked by the Electoral Tribunal, related to expressing opinions before a ruling, is not contemplated in the organic law of the Court, but in the Federal Code of Civil Procedure. Therefore, he ruled out that the analysis of the judicial reform is on the agenda of the ministers next February 13.
The minister believes that the request to excuse only four ministers for their opinions on the judicial reform, leaving aside the female ministers close to the Government, is convenient but crude. He stated that the problem is not in the content of the opinions, but in expressing them on a specific matter, which, in his opinion, should apply to all ministers, not just some.
Meanwhile, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, president of the Board of Directors of the Senate, accused the four ministers of the Supreme Court of taking on the role of activists against the amendments to the Constitution. According to him, these magistrates have publicly taken political positions against the constitutional changes and oppose the election of judges by universal, secret, and direct vote, which he considers a clear conflict of interest.
