Supreme Court Justice of the Nation Minister Alberto Pérez Dayán. Photo: Google

By KELIN DILLON

In a plenary session held on Tuesday, Nov. 5, Mexico’s Supreme Court Justice of the Nation (SCJN) dismissed unconstitutionality arguments presented by opposition parties against former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) and his National Regeneration Movement’s (Morena) controversial judicial reforms to the Mexican Constitution. 

The potential impact of the reforms, which will now see Mexico’s judges and magistrates elected by popular vote, has been widely criticized by opposing political parties, private investment, national judges, and foreign trade partners like the United States and Canada.

During Tuesday’s session, the SCJN clarified that it would need eight votes to invalidate the constitutional reform despite the constitution itself only requiring six.

Minister Alberto Pérez Dayán’s opinion that the highest court does not have the power to weigh in on constitutional reforms prevented the SCJN from reaching the required eight votes for annulment. 

Therefore, the court dropped the discussion, leaving the judicial reform intact.

Meanwhile, hundreds of appeals submitted by judicial branch members remain pending, one of which could potentially reach the SCJN after a lengthy process.

Members of the judicial branch pushed back against the SCJN’s decision, with spokesperson for Judicial Power of the Federation (PJF) workers Patricia Aguayo characterizing the vote as a “day of mourning for the citizens of this country” and “mourning for our students and their futures and for all of our children and our grandchildren.”

For her part, Tlaxcala District Judge Lucero de Alba criticized Pérez Dayán’s choice against the six-vote rule that would have prevented Morena’s judicial reform from remaining as law.

“Minister Alberto Pérez Dayán knows that his vote will be the one that can bury the future of our country,” said de Alba. “The loss of institutions that defend dignity and that defend autonomy from the abuse of power will fall on his shoulders. Do not allow fear to guide you or pressure or blackmail to give space to tyrants because the people do not forget, and we will be here to remind them.”

The National Electoral Institute (INE) is currently organizing the June 2025 popular judicial elections outlined in the judicial reform.