TEPJF magistrates see virtues and defects in “Plan B” of AMLO’s electoral reform

The magistrate of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (TEPJF), Felipe de la Mata Pizaña, stated that the “Plan B” of electoral reform, approved in the Chamber of Deputies, has virtues and defects.

By participating in the national forum “Challenges of the Electoral Reform and its application”, the magistrate celebrated that the recently approved opinion contains the reduction of the means of challenge, the express indication of the implementation of the online trial and tools to improve access to justice and the guarantee of the political-electoral rights of vulnerable groups , such as the obligation to generate sentences that are easy to read or judge with a gender perspective.

On the contrary, he pointed out as problematic some issues such as the limitation of the interpretative power of the electoral Tribunal in the cases of exercise of a position and in the internal democracy of the political parties, the substitution of the complaint in all the cases and the lack of strengthening to the fulfillment of the sentences of the Electoral Tribunal.

For his part, in the panel “Challenges and challenges of electoral justice in Mexico”, the presiding magistrate of the TEPJF, Reyes Rodriguez Mondragonsaid that one of the challenges for electoral institutions is to establish innovative mechanisms to listen to citizens.

He said that in the electoral Tribunal Actions have been promoted so that this highest electoral jurisdictional body is more open and more collaborative. He stressed he is a pioneer in the issue of open justice by virtue of his efforts to empower Mexicans.

He considered that in order to face the challenges demanded by civil society, the Electoral Tribunal magistracies have also been working for years to prevent technicality or secrecy from becoming a barrier for this institution, “because the most important thing is to be transparent and have open doors open to the citizenry, as well as maintaining the independence of other public and factual powers, because impartiality is a shield against corruption”.

Judge Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón said that it must be borne in mind that today’s electoral system is the product of gradual progress and citizen achievement so that the elections comply with the democratic principles of universal suffrage and political equity.

He mentioned that these principles commit magistrates to take care of the institutional heritage, because society demands a close and understandable justice. He expressed his conviction that inclusive debate is essential in democracy to consolidate a more coherent, independent and reliable electoral justice system.

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