Judicial Workers in Mexico in Protest
Judicial workers in Mexico continue their protest against the budget cuts to this sector of the nation.
Last week, the Morena parliamentary faction and its allies in Congress approved a cut of 15.45 billion pesos to extinguish 13 out of the 14 existing trusts within the Supreme Court, the Council of the Judiciary, and the Electoral Tribunal.
The project was signed by Ignacio Mier Velazco, the Morena coordinator in the Chamber of Deputies, and it specifies that some of the trusts were created to pay bonuses, benefits, and pensions for judges, as well as support for fuel and unlimited toll road services for ministers.
Regarding this, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador clarified that these cuts do not affect the judicial workers in Mexico.
Meanwhile, the protesters argue that the cuts are indicative that the resources are not transparently managed for the public but are distributed among the upper echelons.
The funds obtained from the cuts would be directed toward social programs and infrastructure projects through the Treasury of the Federation.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also commented on the strike announced by workers’ unions in the Judicial Power, which begins this Thursday and ends on October 24.
The demonstration by judicial workers in Mexico includes a series of protests in the Senate, the body with the final say on the trust dissolution.
During his morning press conference on Thursday, President López Obrador dismissed the idea that there would be significant consequences if the workers’ protests continue and lead to a paralysis in the Judicial Power.
“Nothing happens, really, I’m not exaggerating. We even come out ahead because they are only there to free criminals, both common criminals and white-collar criminals,” said the federal leader as he reiterated his stance in favor of dissolving these funds.
Judicial Workers in Mexico in Protest
The president was also questioned about how legal proceedings and court cases in the Judicial Power would be handled.
“No justice is served,” he claimed, arguing that these institutions primarily serve the interests of the powerful, not those who cannot buy their innocence.
He stated that in the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN), in the anteroom to the Plenary, there are lawyers “representing the powerful” waiting to be received by the ministers.
He considered it “very serious” that workers are considering going on strike. He added that such strikes by judicial workers in Mexico do not help the people but rather harm them.
He also reminded that his government discloses how judges and magistrates grant amnesties to criminals and unfreeze accounts of corrupt individuals.
President López Obrador also took the opportunity to send a message to the Supreme Court ministers, asking them to participate in the protests organized by the judicial workers: “It’s good for them to get some sun,” he said with a laugh.
President López Obrador insisted that the elimination of trusts does not affect the workers, but if it does, it can be rectified in the Senate.
