By Elia Lopez
Oct 30, 2024, 11:35 AM EDT
Jorge Mario Pardo Rebolledominister of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) of Mexico, presented his resignation before the Senate, becoming the second to announce his resignation from the country’s highest court. The first was the minister Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena.
His resignation comes a week after Congress supported President Claudia Sheinbaum to stop the controversial judicial reform, as ordered by Judge Nancy Contreras.
The judicial reform was approved last September, where one of the modifications that has caused the most controversy is that ministers, judges and magistrates will be elected by popular vote.
The first elections for the Judiciary will be held in June 2025. Acting ministers, judges and magistrates can participate in the call.
But now the resignations of the SCJN ministers begin. In his resignation letter, Pardo Rebolledo stated that his decision is an act of “personal consistency” and not convenience, after more than 40 years of service in the Judicial Branch.
The judicial reform, approved in September, requires that ministers who do not want to participate in the 2025 electoral process must present their resignation before the end of October 224, which guarantees their access to a proportional retirement pension. According to the minister, his withdrawal does not represent an acceptance of the reform, but rather a choice to remain independent and distance himself from what he considers a process that interferes with his mission of impartiality and objectivity.
Sheinbaum’s reaction
In response, the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, maintained that the ministers are seeking to resign at this time to secure their financial retirement benefits, alluding to what she described as “a lot of money.” On the other hand, the president of the Senate, GErardo Fernández Noroñaexpressed his discontent with the departure of the ministers, pointing out that they seem more interested in their economic benefits than in participating in the process that he considers key for the judicial system.
This resignation comes in addition to the recent resignation of Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Menaand five other ministers, including the president of the SCJN, Norma Piña, are expected to make the same decision. So far, the only ministers who have expressed their intention to compete in the next electoral process are Lenia Batres, Yazmín Esquivel and Loreta Ortiz, who are aligned with the current government.
The situation has generated debate about the independence of the Court and the economic benefits that its members obtain when they retire, at a key moment for the relationship between the Judicial Branch and the Executive.