Weekly Report - 21 May 2026 (WR-26-20)

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced an initiative to amend the judicial election process, including postponing the next elections until 2028. This would represent significant changes to the judicial election system created by the reform passed under Sheinbaum’s predecessor and mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024). The controversial reform introduced the direct election of all members of the judiciary, with the first elections taking place last year. The move reflects a tacit acknowledgement of the issues surrounding that first electoral process. While the process had been widely criticised by the political opposition and election observers from the Organization of American States (OAS), the ruling left-wing Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (Morena) had hitherto declared it a total success [WR-25-23].