The Constitution and the electoral norms contained in our Magna Carta will be tested as of Wednesday, February 1, for the start of the ordinary period of sessions of Congress, where the Senate will finish approving the controversial Plan B of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which will be challenged in Court, and possibly in courts and tribunals, while the deputies must agree to elect four new INE directors.
In this vein, due to the polarization that exists in the Lower House, and that Morena has already announced that she does not intend to build agreements with the opposition, From now on, it is expected that the new directors of the National Electoral Institute (INE) will have to be elected by insaculation, because the candidates for these positions will hardly be able to obtain the votes of two thirds of the legislators.
This is a scenario that is provided for in the Constitution, in which the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation can even intervene, an instance that can also carry out the inauguration of the new electoral advisers who will replace Ciro Murayama Rendón, Adriana Margarita Favela Herrera, José Roberto Ruiz Saldaña, and the President of the INE, Lorenzo Cordova Vianello, who conclude their term on April 3.
The insaculation is a raffle in which the election of the new directors is left to chance, as provided for in subparagraphs d) and e) of Section A of Section V of Article 41 of the Constitution.
In this case, a Technical Evaluation Committee must first be formed, which is in charge of selecting the best qualified candidates, from among those registered as aspiring electoral advisers. This group must prepare four quintets for each one to be voted on in plenary session by the Chamber of Deputies, but that vote is qualified, that is, it must bring together two thirds of the legislators present.
If no candidate from the quintets obtains that vote, the Lower House must hold a session in which the election will be through the polling of the lists formed by the Technical Evaluation Committee. Ergo, ballot papers with the names of the candidates must be inserted into a ballot box, and someone designated for this must take out the name of the chosen one.
Likewise, if the insaculation cannot be carried out in the Chamber of Deputies, the same article 41 of the Constitution establishes that “the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation will carry out, in public session, the appointment (of the new directors) through insaculation of the list formed by the evaluation committee”.
concerned opposition
Why is it being thought from now on that it will be luck that will ultimately determine who will be INE directors? The answer is simple: Morena does not have a qualified majority in the lower house, nor does she have the intention of building consensus with the opposition bloc, according to what the Secretary of the Interior, Adán Augusto López, announced this week.
“You are people of conviction and you know that We are not going to plead for the construction of an artificial constitutional majority, Well, I ask you to take care of the process and that many from here were even (candidates) for insaculation, because that is how electoral advisers can and should be elected,” said the person in charge of the country’s internal policy when meeting with the deputies of his party.
The parties opposed to Morena, even if they joined, do not reach the qualified majority that is required for this election either.
In general terms, reaching the extreme of the insaculation is not what should worry us, since in reality a lottery is not negative if all the candidates are non-partisan professionals who have the necessary experience and knowledge to be part of the General Council of the INE. The latter, the suitability of the applicants who are chosen by the Technical Evaluation Committee, is the most important thing.
That is why the opposition is concerned about the integration of this Committee, which should be made up of seven people “of recognized prestige”.
Article 41 of the Constitution establishes that the Political Coordination Board of the Chamber of Deputies must appoint three of the commissioners; two others are appointed by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH); and the remaining two are chosen by the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI).
As will be recalled, in December 2022 there was already a controversy over one of these appointments, when the CNDH appointed Maria del Socorro Puga Luevano as a member of the Technical Evaluation Committee, in whose profile stands out being a housewife, yoga expert, and militant of Morena. After the criticism that this designation unleashed, the Mexican Ombudsman announced on December 27 that it is already analyzing a new proposal.
Plan B to the Court and courts
In turn, the Senate is already preparing to conclude the legislative process for the reform of secondary electoral laws. To materialize, the call Plan B of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador must be partially voted on by the senators, highlighting the elimination of the “eternal life clause” that had been included in favor of political parties.
This clause was added in the Upper House in December, but then the Chamber of Deputies removed it because allowed for political parties to exchange votes among themselves, in the event that any of these were at risk of losing registration, by not reaching 3% of the vote in general elections.
Specifically, senators must endorse that they agree with their peers in the lower house regarding the elimination of that clause. After that, a long road will begin to be able to implement this reform, since the opposition will challenge it before the Supreme Court, through an Unconstitutionality Action, while citizens can also explore the possibility of promoting Amparo Trials against him.
The same General Council of the INE also plans to combat these changes with a Constitutional Controversy, since the president’s electoral Plan B includes various transgressions to the magna carta when restructuring his functions, which severely weakens the body.
The new regulatory provisions interfere with the autonomy of the institution, compact the activities of the Local Electoral Public Organizations (OPLES); and at least 40 District Boards of the 300 that currently exist disappear.
The latter puts not only the organization of the elections at risk, but also the sensitive personal data of citizens, since this restructuring includes the dismissal of hundreds of INE employees who in each district are in charge of the modules in which the Voting card.
It is also ordered to review the salaries received by INE staff, and ends the electoral ban which forced the government and its officials to refrain from issuing propaganda and official publicity before and during the elections. Likewise, the power of the magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal to annul candidacies is limited, in cases in which the applicants transgress the legislation.
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surya palaces Journalist and lawyer, specialist in legal analysis and human rights. She has been a reporter, radio host and editor.
