Citizens, opponents, civil society organizations and workers of the Judiciary of Mexico who are on strike, protested to raise the pressure against the reform of the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who seeks to have popular elections to appoint judges and the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN).
The protest was repeated in different states of the Mexican territory, while, in Mexico City, a concentration of people marched from the historic Monument of the Revolution, along the main Paseo de la Reforma avenue and to the capital’s Zocalo, in front of the National Palace, the main public square in the country.
Among the positions that were heard from the north and to the south of the country in various public squares, it was defended that the proposal aims to violate judicial independence, the career of officials who aspire to climb by merit, as well as warned of risks to Mexican democracy and the counterweights to power.
“Judicial power, national counterweight,” “without color or party, justice has been imparted,” “if the people are informed, the reform does not pass,” “We are not opposition, we serve the nation,” “democracy yes, dictatorship no,” were just some of the slogans of the demonstrators.
Among the 700 demonstrators registered by the Secretariat of Citizen Security of the Mexican capital, workers of the Judicial Power of the Federation (PJF) demonstrated in the Zócalo, who have been on strike for a week.
It was last Monday, August 19, when PJF workers, including base administrators, secretaries of agreements and actuaries, decided to interrupt the work and go to a work stoppage, placing chains and locks on the doors of several judicial precincts.
Then judges and magistrates were added, which means the strike of at least 1,200 Mexican players throughout the country, according to data from the National Association of Magistrates and District Judges (Jufed).
The administrative body of the PJF, the Council of the Federal Judiciary, although it has endorsed the stoppage of work, reported that a regime of minimum services will be maintained to deal with serious or urgent cases.
On Thursday, the Mexican Government treamed to fire those who do not show up to work, as well as to cut their salaries, while workers and judges refuse to resume activities until there is a real negotiation on the judicial reform that is being promoted in Congress.
Meanwhile, the reform proposed by López Obrador supposes that anyone with a law degree could apply to be elected to head a court, although legislators have maintained that there will be controls so that they end up nominated on a ballot and that the current judges will have the right to be able to participate to rejoin the PJF.
The above has also triggered a series of warnings to the business climate in the country, as pointed out by the rating agency Fitch Ratings or entities such as Citibanamex, Bank of America and Stanley Morgan.
While the ambassadors in Mexico of the United States and Canada have revealed concerns of investors in their countries and the Mexican peso has felt the climate of risk aversion, touching almost 20 units during the week.
Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.
The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.
The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).
“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.
Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”
President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.
Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.
A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”
According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.
Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.
Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.
“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.
“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.
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