Monday, September 1, 2025, marked a seismic shift in Mexico’s judicial landscape, as nearly 900 newly elected judges—including the country’s first indigenous Supreme Court president—were sworn in following the nation’s inaugural judicial elections. The ceremony, held at the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) headquarters in Mexico City, drew dignitaries, lawmakers, and President Claudia Sheinbaum herself, who had earlier delivered her first state of the nation address at the Palacio Nacional. The day’s events not only signaled the start of a new era for Mexico’s legal system, but also ignited spirited debate over the future of democracy and justice in Latin America’s second-largest country.
At the heart of the transformation is Hugo Aguilar Ortiz, a Mixtec lawyer from San Agustín Tlacotepec, Oaxaca, who became the most voted candidate in the June 1, 2025, judicial elections. Garnering 6,146,686 votes, Aguilar is now the first indigenous person to preside over Mexico’s highest court. His ascent, celebrated as a groundbreaking milestone, comes after more than three decades spent defending indigenous rights and working on landmark projects such as the Maya Train and the Interoceanic Corridor. According to Heraldo USA, Aguilar’s track record includes roles at the State Institute and Citizen Participation of Oaxaca, the Secretariat of Indigenous Affairs, and as a United Nations consultant on indigenous lands. Since 2018, he has led the Indigenous Rights Coordination at the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples, making him a familiar face in grassroots and governmental circles alike.
Aguilar’s vision for the judiciary is ambitious. During the swearing-in ceremony, he pledged, “Thank you to each of you who helped me, thank you to each of you who went out to vote and chose me, we all made it happen, and we will work for the good of everyone.” He promised to ensure rights such as pensions for the elderly, student scholarships, the protection of native corn, and substantive equality for women. He also described the elections as inaugurating “a new justice system.”
But Aguilar’s arrival is just one part of a much broader overhaul. The judicial reform that enabled these elections was passed in September 2024 by Mexico’s Congress, replacing the old system—where Supreme Court justices were appointed by the president and confirmed by a two-thirds Senate vote—with direct elections by popular vote. The first round of judicial elections, held on June 1, 2025, saw a modest turnout of about 13% of eligible voters, yet resulted in the selection of nine new Supreme Court justices and 872 other judges and magistrates. Among the new justices, three—Lenia Batres Guadarrama, Yasmin Esquivel Mossa, and Loretta Ortiz Ahlf—had previously served on the outgoing 11-member bench. The remaining six, including Aguilar, are newcomers to the Supreme Court. With this transition, the court’s size shrank from eleven to nine justices.
All nine new justices are either affiliated with, sympathetic to, or supported by the ruling Morena party, a fact that has drawn pointed criticism from opposition figures and legal scholars. According to reporting from Reforma and El Universal, critics argue that this alignment could erode the judiciary’s independence and weaken its role as a check on executive and legislative power. The concern is not merely academic: the judicial reform was “jammed through by Morena last year,” as the Associated Press described, and it set the stage for the June elections that have now resulted in what some see as a court dominated by government allies.
President Claudia Sheinbaum, however, has repeatedly defended the reforms. In her state of the nation address, she declared, “The era of nepotism, corruption and privilege is over, and a new era of legality and justice for all is beginning.” She has argued that allowing citizens to elect judges enhances democracy and rids the judiciary of entrenched corruption. “The commencement on Sept. 1 of the terms of recently elected judges marks the end of an era of nepotism in the judiciary,” she said, as reported by Mexico News Daily. Sheinbaum, who enjoys approval ratings between 70% and 80%, has made judicial reform a centerpiece of her agenda, often pointing to the change as a “profoundly democratic event.”
Yet, the new system comes with its own challenges. The Supreme Court’s structure has been streamlined: gone are the two chambers that once divided civil/criminal and labor/administrative law. Now, all nine justices will deliberate and decide cases together in Full Court sessions, with at least six votes required for a ruling to stand. Incoming Chief Justice Aguilar has even suggested holding sessions outside the headquarters to “bring justice closer to the people.”
The judiciary, however, faces a daunting workload. As of July 2025, the federal judiciary had a “historic” backlog of 552,800 unresolved active cases—a 25% increase from the previous year—excluding over 50,000 federal labor law cases. This surge, as Reforma noted, is partly due to the retirement of hundreds of magistrates and judges who opted not to contest the elections. Compounding the problem, the Federal Judiciary Council’s budget was slashed by 10% compared to 2024, limiting the creation of new courts or tribunals to help manage the growing workload.
To address institutional rigor and corruption, Aguilar announced the creation of a new disciplinary body—a move meant to prevent the issues that plagued the previous administration led by Norma Piña. The hope is that this body will instill greater accountability and transparency, though only time will tell if it can deliver on that promise.
The broader political context is equally complex. In her address, President Sheinbaum celebrated the government’s handling of relations with the Trump administration, highlighting aggressive action against cartels and fentanyl production, as well as the extradition of dozens of cartel figures to the United States. Sheinbaum emphasized Mexican sovereignty and rejected any notion of foreign military intervention, stating, “Under no circumstance will we accept interventions, interference, or any other act from abroad that is detrimental to the integrity, independence, and sovereignty of the country.”
Sheinbaum also pointed to social gains: more than 8.3 million people were lifted out of poverty between 2022 and 2024, thanks to expanded social programs and minimum wage increases. Direct money transfers now reach around 32 million families, about a quarter of Mexico’s population, making it “the most ambitious social plan in Mexico’s history,” according to the president.
Still, some of Mexico’s thorniest issues—ongoing cartel violence and concerns over democratic backsliding—were notably absent from Sheinbaum’s speech. Critics warn that the new judicial system, while promising inclusivity and transparency, could ultimately consolidate power in the hands of the ruling party, undermining the very checks and balances that safeguard democracy.
As Mexico embarks on this new chapter, the eyes of the nation—and the world—will be watching to see whether these reforms deliver justice for all or simply redraw the lines of power.
