Judicial Reform / Pasta de Conchos

Judicial Reform. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador congratulated all the MORENA representatives and their allies in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, emphasizing their crucial role in securing the approval of the judicial reform.

The reform’s publication on Sept. 15 followed Congress’ confirmation of the judicial reform’s constitutionality, with over 17 local congresses approving the judicial changes. The process will involve the election of Supreme Court ministers, regional chamber magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Branch (TEPJF), and members of the Judicial Discipline Tribunal. For circuit magistrates and district judges, the election will be staggered: in the 2025 extraordinary election, half of the positions in each judicial circuit will be renewed, while the rest will be filled in 2027. 

Pasta de Conchos. The president will visit the Pasta de Conchos mine on Sept. 25 to supervise the government’s work to recover the bodies.

In Feb. 2006, an explosion occurred in Pasta de Conchos’ Mine 8 due to an accumulation of methane gas, causing the death of 65 mining workers and injuring 11. The mine belonged to Grupo México, but it was not until April 2007 that the company began to carry out rescue operations to recover the remains of the 65 miners. Only two bodies were recovered. Soon after, Grupo México argued that it was canceling further recovery efforts due to safety constraints. After multiple legal efforts, both nationally and internationally, the Interamerican Court of Human Rights recognized the families' right to recover the bodies of their loved ones. So far, the Attorney General's Office (FGR) has identified the miner recovered from the Pasta de Conchos mine, José Alfredo Ordóñez Martínez, as one of the 63 miners trapped in the accident.

Violence in Sinaloa. President López Obrador addressed the ongoing violence in Sinaloa, urging  the media to avoid sensationalism in their coverage. Since the capture of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada on July 25, 2024, clashes in Sinaloa have resulted in 40 deaths and 30 arrests, according to the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA). SEDENA's Head, Luis Cresencio Sandoval, confirmed that additional reinforcements would be deployed to maintain public safety. Intelligence operations and military reinforcements were introduced after Zambada's arrest to prevent violence between cartel factions.