US ambassador reaffirms criticism of Mexico’s judicial reform: ‘If it is not done well, it can cause a lot of damage’

The election of judges, magistrates and ministers of the Mexican Supreme Court by direct popular vote has raised a new wall between the United States and Mexico. Ambassador Ken Salazar has moderated his tone, but maintains his earlier criticism of the judicial reform promoted by Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his party, Morena. “If it is not done well, it can cause a lot of damage to the relationship,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday. Salazar insisted that the decision on the future of the proposal is in the hands of the government and Congress of Mexico, and denied that Washington’s public position on the matter constitutes a violation of Mexican sovereignty. “There are many concerns,” he said, after two weeks of bilateral tensions and a controversial diplomatic “pause” declared by the Mexican president.

“I am communicating a lot with the Mexican government and I will continue to do so,” Salazar said about the “pause,” in the first press conference called by the U.S. embassy after declaring on August 22 that “popular direct election of judges is a major risk to the functioning of Mexico’s democracy.” The ambassador’s latest statements came on a turbulent day in the legislative process of the reform, after workers from the judicial branch blocked the entrances to the lower house of Congress to prevent the reform from being discussed and presumably approved by the majority held by Morena and its allies. The protests, supported by an unprecedented work stoppage, forced the governing party to look for an alternative venue, a gym three miles away from the legislative palace of San Lázaro.

The news conference by the U.S. embassy had raised great expectations after the diplomatic clash of a few days ago. The official topic of the meeting with the media, however, was a presentation on the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, Benito Juárez and activist Dolores Huerta. As reporters gathered to follow up on the controversy between the two countries, Salazar offered a tour of the official residence, in which he spoke of his work during the last three years in the country and his intention to give a positive turn to the bilateral relationship. “The United States and Mexico are united, like a family,” he repeated on multiple occasions during the tour. “We have a complicated history, but the reality is that going forward we will continue to be a family.”

“To my friend Ken Salazar, with affection and gratitude for his professional and respectful work with Mexico,” reads the dedication from López Obrador to the ambassador on a photograph hanging in the library of the official residence. It was at that point when Salazar spoke of history and shared values, and appealed to symbols to soothe his fractured relationship with the Mexican president. “We have had a good journey, I have a lot of respect for President López Obrador,” he said. “He has opened the doors for us, now we are the main trade partners in the world.”

The next stop was the living room of the ambassador’s residence, where news conferences normally take place and where Salazar took questions from reporters. “The work continues,” he insisted, “it cannot stop just because someone gets angry.” The ambassador said that reform of Mexico’s legal system was necessary, but said he did not understand why his comments had sparked so much debate. “Hopefully we will get to a place where any reform that passes can support democratic values between the United States and Mexico,” he said.

Tensions between the two countries have also been reflected in the security field, following the capture of Ismael El Mayo Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López in New Mexico on July 25. Last week was shrouded in controversy after the Attorney General’s Office questioned Washington’s version of the legal situation of Ovidio Guzmán, Joaquín’s brother and El Chapo’s son, in the United States, and announced that it was investigating whether his alleged release from prison was related to the arrest of El Mayo. In Mexico there were also rumors of Ovidio’s alleged entry into the protected witness program, according to a DEA source, although the information was denied. “Los Chapitos are still in jail, they are still under arrest. Period. They are not going to get out,” he concluded.

“I have great respect for the president-elect,” Salazar said of Claudia Sheinbaum, who questioned America’s position against the election of Mexican judges by direct vote, saying that they were also elected that way in the United States. The ambassador said that “there is no federal judge” who is elected by popular vote in the United States, and that there are very few states that do so at the local level. “The concerns and ideas that I have shared are part of the dialogue that we must have as neighbors and friends,” he said.

The tribute to Dolores Huerta was also an attempt to build bridges with the next Mexican administration and to say that the time for women has arrived, a slogan used by Sheinbaum during her campaign. “The future is going to involve a lot of leadership from women,” said Salazar. The ambassador also alluded to Barack Obama’s victory in 2008 as a “transformation,” another nod to López Obrador’s speech, and made public his admiration for Benito Juárez, a central figure in the pantheon of heroes of the Mexican president. Despite the turbulence of the last few days, Salazar, a man of symbols, has opted for de-escalation. The core of the message, however, remains the same: the concerns are still there, and the differences, too. Meanwhile, Morena has announced that it hopes that the judicial reform will be fully approved by Congress in the first half of September.

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