The Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Power of the Federation (TEPJF) of Mexico approved this Wednesday the judicial candidacy of Job Daniel Wong Ibarra, who aspires to be a magistrate in the judicial elections on June 1. The resolution was reached with four votes in favor and the reasoned vote of magistrate Janine Otálora. The Superior Chamber of the TEPJF concluded that being a minister of worship is not a sufficient reason to disqualify a candidate through the 'special sanctioning procedure.'
Mónica Soto, Felipe de la Mata Pizaña, Alfredo Fuentes, and Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón were the magistrates who voted in favor of Wong's candidacy. This candidate, who seeks to be a magistrate in labor matters in the Third Circuit of the state of Jalisco, has been pointed out for his alleged relationship with the Church of the Light of the World and in the past publicly supported Naasón Joaquín García, the former leader of that church convicted of child sexual abuse in the United States.
Despite his prior backing, recently Wong has distanced himself from the former religious leader on social media and in interviews, especially since the start of the judicial campaign phase. Wong's candidacy was challenged by direct victims of Naasón Joaquín García and the civil organization Desensorxs, who also reported three other judicial candidates allegedly linked to the Church of the Light of the World.
The complainants accused Wong of serving as a minister of worship in that church and stated that he gave a talk on evangelization strategies at an international conference. The complaint was filed on March 26 with the aim of preventing the candidacies since, according to the law, 'good reputation' is required to aspire to a judicial position. However, the TEPJF Chamber declared the complaint 'improper' in early April.
Other questioned candidates for their support of Naasón Joaquín García are Madián Sinaí Menchaca Sierra, Betzabeth Almazán Morales, and Cinthia Teniente Mendoza, who aspire to different judicial posts in Jalisco and Guanajuato. Naasón Joaquín García was arrested in 2019 in California, United States, in possession of child sexual material and is currently serving a sentence of nearly 17 years in state prison. Despite his incarceration, García remains the leader of the Church of the Light of the World, founded in 1926 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The church, with a presence in 60 countries and millions of followers, considers Joaquín García as 'the apostle of Jesus Christ.'
