Cartels loom over Mexico’s new system of electing judges

Clerical workers in an Acapulco courthouse heard the shots ring out as they were wrapping up their workday. Gunmen had opened fire on Magistrate Edmundo Roman Pinzon, a former president of the highest court in Guerrero state, killing him instantly as he tried to pull out of the parking lot.

The December 11 killing happened months before thousands of candidates will vie for federal judge and magistrate positions in an election that marks a sea change in how Mexico runs its judicial system after years of rampant lawlessness.

In a country that last year endured the bloodiest political elections in its modern history, the heightened public exposure of those competing for the prestigious posts has sparked fears that the candidates will be easy targets.

“Undoubtedly all of us are at risk to suffer an attack,” Ynocente Orduno, former president of Guerrero’s judges’ association, said in an interview at his office in the courthouse where Roman was killed.

Roman’s position is expected to be on the ballot in Guerrero’s local judicial elections slated for 2027.

Read more: Reuters