FRESNO, Calif. - This Sunday, Mexico will hold an election unlike any in its history.
Over 800 national, state and local judicial positions are on the ballot as part of a reform that aims to transform how justice is administered in the country. The changes are being watched closely by Mexican citizens who live in the San Joaquin Valley.
Among them is Refugio Vasquez Sanchez, who has lived in Fresno for 23 years.
Originally from the Mexican state of Guanajuato, he says the idea of letting voters choose judges sounds more like a political experiment than a solution to combatting corruption and nepotism in the country.
Vasquez Sanchez has his doubts.
“It’s not the way, it’s not a good example for anyone,” Vasquez Sanchez told KVPR. “They say we’re the first country doing this, but precisely, because nobody has done this. It doesn’t carry benefits.”
While he’s not voting in this year’s election, he is still encouraging his friends and relatives in Mexico to take part, even as he worries what the outcome could bring.
This new system, Vasquez Sanchez says, could let judges with only a few years of experience take positions of great power.
Under the new rules, candidates only need three to five years of experience to run for a judge position. Most current judges have many years in the courtroom.
The Mexican government has touted this reform as a way for citizens to have a direct say over who oversees justice in the country’s courtrooms. It’s an effort toward more democracy, the government argues, while Vasquez Sanchez and others sit and watch warily.
“We are going back to the 1960s,” Vasquez Sanchez said. “When everything was decided based on who was in power.”
Sunday’s election is the first step in a plan that will be completed in 2027, when the entirety – an estimated 2,600 – of Mexico’s judges will be elected democratically.
These reforms began under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and were formalized under Mexico’s current President Claudia Sheinbaum. Both are the leaders of the MORENA political party, which has virtual control of Mexico.
Sheinbaum was elected last year, and residents in the San Joaquin Valley were among those who took part in the process from abroad. Slow-moving lines, tech-issues, and a limited number of ballots left lots of people unable to participate. Similar issues were reported in consulate offices in other major U.S. cities like Dallas and Chicago.
Despite those challenges, hundreds in the Valley took part in the historic election of the first female president in the country’s history.
Sheinbaum earned 86% of the vote from those who voted in Fresno, according to Mexico’s elections agency.
The judicial elections are coming with far less enthusiasm, and with nearly half of Mexicans actually aware they’re taking place. The dizzying number of positions could be a reason why, according to surveys.
Legal scholars argue the judicial reform is not rigorous enough, raising concerns about politicization of courtrooms or worse – infiltration of criminal organizations. Even the office of the United States Embassy in Mexico released a statement cautioning the process.
“A strengthened judicial branch in Mexico must have capable judges to manage complex litigation for extraditions, trade disputes, and other issues,” Ken Salazar, the previous ambassador to Mexico wrote.
Vasquez Sanchez, the Fresno resident, said his hope is that people ultimately stay informed and make their voices heard in any manner they can over his home country’s future.
“ There are many ways to participate, and we have the ability to take part through different organizations, to give our opinion, and make known what we want and what we need,” he said.
