Was it a huge success or a resounding failure? Mexicans’ opinions on last Sunday’s judicial elections are mixed, largely depending on which side of the political aisle they sit.
For President Claudia Sheinbaum, the low turnout—estimated at between 12 and 13 percent—was irrelevant. She hailed the country’s first public election to select approximately 1,300 federal judges and magistrates as a significant step forward for democracy.
However, widespread protests across Mexico on election day underscored concerns that the judicial reforms prompting the vote may threaten the separation of powers—an essential pillar of checks and balances that curtails executive overreach, and moderates authoritarianism.
Many commentators were quick to criticize the hastily organized and complex election. They argued that low participation reflected deep public skepticism about the vote’s stated aim of rooting out corruption in the justice system.
“I voted, but at the end of the day, I wonder what difference it will make,” one voter told reporters outside a Guadalajara polling station.
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