In the midst of the debate over a new election reform, the former president of the Electoral Court of the Judicial Power of the Federation (TEPJF), Flavio Galván Rivera, proposed the creation of the Electoral Power, representing the INE, the Court and an Attorney for the Defense of the Political Rights of the Citizen, in order the elections are completely autonomous, without fraud and without the intervention of political actors.
interviews conducted by The Economistasked the magistrate not to be afraid or surprised by the expressions of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and political actors of Morena, who expressed the intention to carry out an election reform to remove the current magistrates from the TEPJF and counselors of OTHER. He pointed out that while this is not ideal, the removal of electoral officials should not be surprising.
“I came to talk about the electoral property, similar to the fiscal variety. There was legislation for the 1988 election, another for the 1999 election, another regulation for the 1997 election and another for the year 2000, and there we stopped this ongoing reform. If we review all these reforms, we will see that the replacement of councilors and the replacement of magistrates have always been discussed and carried out, except for the 1993 reform which explicitly stipulated that the magistrates would continue in their positions, but there was a replacement. of counselors.
“The 1990 reform of Cofipe, created by the IFE, replaced an institution that no one trusts anymore, the Federal Electoral Commission that it was created in 1946. The normal thing in any reform is that there may be a change of persons responsible for the performance of duties; Hopefully this is not the case, but if it is, it is nothing new; I believe that no one should worry, no one should be afraid, what we should worry about is that there are people professionally, morally, from an ethical point of view and I can even say emotionally, to adequately perform the function entrusted to them to fulfill, for it is a commitment to the Republic. “The changes should not scare us or those who are, or those of us who are outside to see all the movement,” he said.
Magistrate sketches his proposal; IFE and that the TEPJF passes from the Judicial Power to the Voters
“That the INE remains an independent body, with constitutional autonomy as it has been perfected since 1993. The election tribunal it must also be an institution independent of the Judiciary
“For many years I have postulated the need to establish an Electoral Force, of course it brings with it a constitutional reform without the need to increase bureaucracy, but to systematize. Integrate the Electoral Force with the Electoral Court, with a Federal Electoral Institute – not national – with constitutional autonomy, an Electoral Criminal Prosecutor independent of the Attorney General of the Republic, plus the political parties, and the only institutional bureaucratic addition I propose is the creation of a Lawyer for the defense of the political rights of the citizen o Public Protector of Civil Political Rights, and it will integrate the electoral power.
“It would not be new, it exists in Nicaragua, in Venezuela, in Costa Rica and in Ecuador, although in Costa Rica it is not called Power, but Supreme Electoral Tribunal. “In Costa Rica and Ecuador, the division of powers into four different spheres has worked well,” he explained.
Would this be the formal creation of a fourth Power? – She was asked.
“Yes, formally it would be the fourth power,” he replied.
“(Electoral autonomy) will be strengthened, for example, the INE will stop intervening in local elections, for that there are the local institutes that we have to strengthen, as well as the local election courts in the 32 entities. We must seek the strengthening, but also the strengthening of electoral federalism; that every state has its electionsits rules in accordance with the general guidelines laid down in the federal Constitution.
“I believe that a reform that I called the Armed Forces can be restructured without regretting the reforms, rather we will have to see the institutions strengthened. For example, I suggest to the High Chamber that the magistrates, like the ministers, remain in office for 15 years with this renewal mechanism already established in law: staggered renewal; and in its internal organization constitutes two chambers and a plenary session. Two rooms, because it will enable us to work faster than it currently is. A reform that reorganizes the Upper room in two chambers and a plenary session they would make the resolution of matters much more agile. It seems to me that seven magistrates is too much for a dismissal, even the dismissal can be the sentence of a unit magistrate, and only in case of disagreement will three of the seven magistrates know them, and in a matter of conventionality, of violation of international and constitutional treaties, let the seven then resolve the matter. ”
How to convince that this is the path of election reform?
“There are so many initiative projects from Morena, the PRD, the PAN, the PRI, all the parties that existed made proposals. A serious meeting, well informed, with the best of intentions and trying to make this reform. And economic issues have their influence and we have to meet the needs with the corresponding adjustments and it has to be analyzed on the basis of the budget adequacy in the Chamber of Deputies ”.
Judge Flavio Galván also interviewed in the framework of the Strengthening Commission that the TEPJF recently created to implement an internal reform, and stated that within all institutions there are differences and crises that need to be resolved through dialogue and negotiation. . He suggested that the TEPJF allow the trial and trial online to adapt to the new normality of the Covid-19 pandemicas well as publish all the sentence projects.
“Differences are normal everywhere. It is normal for a referee to have differences. In the same vote, being seven magistrates, it is established that the simple minority determines the meaning of the sentences, and in the event of a strike, the President is given a vote of confidence. Do not let differences scare us, do not let some acts of disorganization scare us, I do not know if there is, it is normal in human life. The most important thing is that, if there is any difference, sit down to talk, express views and give the best possible solution to what is happening at that moment.
“A thorough, thorough, serious review, which will hopefully give us more power and few reform projects, not to not want to reform, but to strengthen what has been done. But where the course needs to be corrected, it needs to be corrected. What needs to be reconsidered needs to be renewed.
“I hope that all the changes that are taking place in the country in electoral matters are for the strengthening of the Mexican democratic system in electoral matters, which is an example for many other countries in the world. Ecuador and the Dominican Republic followed the model election institutions in Mexico, ”he concluded.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx