ENTRE LA REFORMA Y LA APATÍA: CIUDADANÍA Y ELECCIÓN JUDICIAL EN MÉXICO
ENTRE LA REFORMA Y LA APATÍA: CIUDADANÍA Y ELECCIÓN JUDICIAL EN MÉXICO
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.349112612016
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Palavras-chave: Crisis democrática, control constitucional, elección judicial, participación ciudadana.
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Keywords: Democratic crisis, constitutional control, judicial election, citizen participation.
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Abstract: Constitutions are the fundamental pillar of democracies and reflect the will of the people. Therefore, their design and modification require careful consideration to ensure the representation of the values that society seeks to establish in its social contract, as well as a reform process that keeps the constitution as a living law adapted to reality. Amendments to the Constitution are often justified as necessary to adapt to the changing social and political reality, helping adjustment to new paradigms that society deems relevant. However, in Mexico, where more than eight hundred constitutional reforms have been made since 1917, the question arises as to whether these changes truly reflect deep social transformations or whether they respond to the interests of a political class that uses the constitution as an instrument of legitimation and alignment with six-year government plans, thus preventing any governmental act from contradicting the constitutional framework. The sweeping approval of constitutional reforms by elected representatives, frequently without sufficient prior debate or spaces for citizen participation, calls into question democratic values in Mexico. This phenomenon was evident in the 2024 reform that impacted the judiciary, setting a new precedent by introducing the popular election of judges and magistrates throughout the country, at both the federal and local levels. Likewise, there is debate as to whether the June 2025 judicial election authentically reflects the will of the people, given the low citizen participation in a process where voting, although constitutionally mandatory, lacks effective sanctions. The interpretation of civic apathy and its causes represents a significant challenge for democratic legitimacy. This essay analyzes constitutional reforms in Mexico as mechanisms for legitimizing six-year government plans and examines the problem of an imperfect constitutional norm, in which the obligation to vote lacks real enforceability. It is argued that this situation generates a crisis in democratic values when citizen participation is minimal, contrasting this phenomenon with the case of Australia, where voting constitutes an effective obligation.
- CARLOS RUZ SALDIVAR