The new Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) closes its first 100 days with all eyes on it and several controversies in tow. In the year-end report, President Hugo Aguilar spoke in favor of a High Court prepared to “go beyond dockets, bureaucracy and indifference to achieve justice that transforms people’s lives.” This idea, which he reformulated in different ways throughout his speech, resonates politically and in some of the latest controversies that the Plenary has faced for pushing the legal framework to its limits in an attempt to achieve “real and genuine justice”, even opening the door to the resumption of trials behind closed doors. In his justification of the Constitutional Court’s work, Aguilar also strongly attacked the previous Court, which he accused of being “slow, self-centered and even arrogant.” New ministers arrive with the intention of “making a difference”.
The balance sheet, however, leaves a negative balance compared to the last report of former president Norma Piña. The Mexican High Court resolved 2,590 cases during these three months, 6.6% less than during the same period of the previous year, when the chambers were still active, which handled a large part of the cases. The elimination of these problems with the judicial reform, one of the measures most criticized by experts, forced the Plenary to take on a large part of this work and, although the average number of questions resolved by it increased significantly – from 1.8 questions per session to 16.4 – this was not enough to maintain the previous resolution rate. “During the past integration, 98.15% were resolved with less than half of the ministers,” justified the president. “This more guaranteeing, plural and in-depth approach reflects the desire to ensure solidly argued resolutions,” he added, highlighting the number of questions dealt with in plenary: 663 in this period, compared to 75 in the previous one.
The Secretary of the Interior, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, attended Wednesday’s session, representing the president, Claudia Sheinbaum, as well as Laura Itzel Castillo and Sergio Gutiérrez Luna, respectively president and vice president of the Senate and the Lower House, on behalf of the Legislature. There was also the new Attorney General of the Republic, Ernestina Godoy, and the head of government of Mexico City, Clara Brugada, as well as the presidents of the other judicial bodies. The presence of all public authorities transformed the session “into a republican act”, underlined Aguilar, who rejected any political link or interference in the work of the Court.
Suspicion has weighed on the nine ministers since they left the polls last June, supported by accordions or voting guides distributed by the ruling party, Morena. “Today, there is no submission or subordination, but institutional co-responsibility and respect for the powers of each person,” defended the president, to the applause of the room. “The Court does not respond to particular interests, it does not adapt to current pressures, it does not allow the political climate to distort its role. This Court does not lean towards any agenda outside the constitutional framework. Judicial independence is a fundamental element”, he also added in a speech in which he valued the election of judges by popular vote: “As never before, accountability is a legal, ethical and social imperative”.
This is one of the aspects that most concerns the new Court, which has made its communication on networks and the monitoring of citizen interactions a priority issue. This is a round trip. The population, as well as experts, also scrutinize with particular attention the work of the new officials of the High Court and from time to time share videos with the judges’ interventions which reveal their legal errors or their most controversial arguments. This review, Aguilar said, “is not only legitimate but welcome.”
The president, who placed particular emphasis on the “new” character of the Court, underlined the change in perspective of the institution, which now “favors the handling of questions which affect human rights and traditionally excluded sectors”. This is perhaps the main mark that Aguilar, the second president of indigenous origin of the High Court, left at the start of his mandate. The defense of cultural and linguistic plurality and the defense of the rights of communities have become an almost personal priority for the Mixtec lawyer. “This democratic legitimacy (being elected by the ballot box) has led us to take over the command of indigenous peoples, not as a ceremonial relay, but as the responsibility to speak to those who cannot speak,” he said on Wednesday during a session in which he also highlighted the gender perspective, social inclusion and openness to dialogue, with public citizen hearings like the one organized with people with disabilities.
This week, the Court closes the current session period, which will resume in January, with the start of the calendar year. These three months leave concluded some important files, such as those which set aside the debts to the treasury of the Mexican businessman Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who faces the payment of almost 50 billion pesos postponed for more than a decade. This question, resolved quickly after years in the drawers of the old court, was aligned with the interests of the executive, which makes recovery from large debtors one of its hobby horses. Other questions that would remain unresolved into the following year, such as whether completed trials could be opened, clashed with the two powers and forced Sheinbaum and his party to set limits on the Court for the first time since its creation. On the civil side, doubts persist: the new Supreme Court will continue to be put to the test when it returns from the Christmas holidays.
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