Mexico’s ruling party expands power in Supreme Court after elections marred by low turnout

Mexico’s ruling party Morena will gain control of the Supreme Court following the country’s first-ever judicial elections, which were marred by low voter turnout and allegations of a power grab.

Mexico’s ruling party Morena will gain control of the Supreme Court following the country’s first-ever judicial elections, which were marred by low voter turnout and allegations of a power grab. Preliminary results from Sunday’s race showed candidates linked with Morena winning most seats on the judiciary. With the victory, the party will now have a firm grip over every branch of government, a change that democracy advocates say weakens the country’s checks and balances. Critics have also warned that the election itself poses a risk to democracy, arguing that by having judges elected through popular vote, the independent authority of the courts could be compromised, and with it, their ability to uphold the law and keep other powers in check at a time of rampant crime and corruption. Around 100 million citizens were eligible to participate in Sunday’s event, but only about 13% showed up to vote. Experts say the figures reflected confusion among voters who were overwhelmed by the large number of positions and candidates to choose from. Víctor Manuel Alarcón Olguín, a research professor at the university UAM-Iztapalapa who focuses on political parties and elections, also faulted the way the process was designed. He said legislators “did not provide the electoral authority with a sufficiently well-defined method, and the electoral authority had to resolve many of these technical problems on the fly in order, at least, to try to make this system work.” Among the nine projected winners in the Supreme Court race are three sitting justices who had been nominated by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the founder of Morena. Others include a former legal adviser to López Obrador, the current human rights prosecutor of the Attorney General’s Office, and an indigenous lawyer who is expected to become the court’s next president.