International
López Obrador criticizes Supreme Court president
March 2nd |
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Wednesday questioned the president of the Supreme Court of Justice for defending the autonomy of judges and affirmed that after she took office at the beginning of the year, “a wave of decisions in favor of alleged criminals” was unleashed.
In a veiled threat to the separation of powers, López Obrador reiterated his criticism of the Judicial Power and expressed his differences with the president of the highest court, Norma Piña, who last month advocated for judicial independence.
The president has already attacked independent regulatory agencies and cut funds to the National Electoral Institute, which has sparked intense debate in the country and questioning from the media, which has become a target in his morning conferences, and more recently from the U.S. State Department.
“Now that the new minister has arrived, she declares in an extreme formalism, as if the judges were all-powerful, that they are autonomous, that they can do whatever they want, and as soon as the new president arrived, a wave of resolutions in favor of alleged criminals is unleashed”, said the president during his morning conference.
López Obrador harshly criticized the Council of the Federal Judiciary, which he called a “flower vase” for not exercising its function of investigating judges and affirmed that during the administration of Minister Arturo Zaldívar, who preceded Piña as president of the Supreme Court, “there was a little more vigilance towards judges”.
Sergio Méndez, lawyer of the civil organization Fundación para la Justicia, which defends the Rule of Law and supports victims of human rights violations, considered the governor’s pronouncement “wrong” and affirmed that his remarks can be assumed as a “form of pressure on the Judicial Power” that affects its independence.
“It is necessary to channel the disagreements in an institutional manner”, said Méndez, stating that it is delicate that the president generalizes with “vague” statements and added that a careful analysis should be made to know what led a judge to decide in a certain case and to evaluate the performance of the Prosecutor’s Office, because sometimes there are failures in the formulation of the accusations and in the evidence.
In January, a few days after Piña became the first woman to become president of the Supreme Court, López Obrador expressed his first disagreements with the minister by stating that with her arrival to the highest court “unfortunately” a reform of the Judicial Branch would not be possible and that she “has always voted against the initiatives that we have defended”.
The Mexican Supreme Court of Justice has been hit in the last months by the scandal generated after the report of the alleged plagiarism of the graduate thesis of Minister Yasmín Esquivel, pointed out as being close to López Obrador and who applied to head the highest court.
A committee of the Facultad de Estudios Superiores Aragón of Mexico’s Universidad Nacional Autónoma (UNAM) determined in January that Esquivel’s 1987 thesis was a “substantial copy” of another submitted in 1986, but the school indicated that it had no rules that would allow it to withdraw her degree or professional license. Following this pronouncement, UNAM left the minister’s case in the hands of an Ethics Committee to consider possible further action.
A court in the Mexican capital agreed the day before to a precautionary measure of “definitive suspension” that prevents the UNAM Ethics Committee from issuing a resolution on Esquivel’s case until the amparo requested by the minister is resolved.
Recently, an investigation by the newspaper El País revealed that the minister had also plagiarized her doctoral thesis, but the university where she obtained that degree ruled out investigating the complaint.
In 2021, López Obrador promoted a reform of the Judicial Branch that extended the term of office of Zaldívar and the members of the Federal Judiciary Council for two years, but the change did not prosper because it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court itself.
International
U.S. Senate Rejects Budget, Bringing Government Closer to Shutdown Amid DHS Dispute
The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday against a budget proposal in a move aimed at pressuring changes at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), following the killing of two civilians during a deployment of immigration agents in Minneapolis.
All Senate Democrats and seven Republican lawmakers voted against the bill, which requires 60 votes to advance, pushing the country closer to a partial government shutdown that would cut funding for several agencies, including the Pentagon and the Department of Health.
The rejection came as Senate leaders and the White House continue negotiations on a separate funding package for DHS that would allow reforms to the agency. Proposed measures include banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face coverings and requiring them to use body-worn cameras during operations.
The vote took place just hours after President Donald Trump said he was “close” to reaching an agreement with Democrats and did not believe the federal government would face another shutdown, following last year’s record stoppage.
“I don’t think the Democrats want a shutdown either, so we’ll work in a bipartisan way to avoid it. Hopefully, there will be no government shutdown. We’re working on that right now,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
International
Trump Says Putin Agreed to One-Week Halt in Attacks on Ukraine Amid Extreme Cold
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he secured a commitment from Russian President Vladimir Putinto halt attacks against Ukraine for one week, citing extreme weather conditions affecting the region.
“Because of the extreme cold (…) I personally asked Putin not to attack Kyiv or other cities and towns for a week. And he agreed. He was very pleasant,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting broadcast by the White House.
Trump acknowledged that several advisers had questioned the decision to make the call.
“A lot of people told me not to waste the call because they wouldn’t agree. And he accepted. And we’re very happy they did, because they don’t need missiles hitting their towns and cities,” the president said.
According to Trump, Ukrainian authorities reacted with surprise to the announcement but welcomed the possibility of a temporary ceasefire.
“It’s extraordinarily cold, record cold (…) They say they’ve never experienced cold like this,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later commented on the announcement, expressing hope that the agreement would be honored.
International
Storm Kristin Kills Five in Portugal, Leaves Nearly 500,000 Without Power
Storm Kristin, which battered Portugal with heavy rain and strong winds early Wednesday, has left at least five people dead, while nearly half a million residents remained without electricity as of Thursday, according to updated figures from authorities.
The revised death toll was confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson for the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANPEC). On Wednesday, the agency had reported four fatalities.
Meanwhile, E-Redes, the country’s electricity distribution network operator, said that around 450,000 customers were still without power, particularly in central Portugal.
Emergency services responded to approximately 1,500 incidents between midnight and 8:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, as the storm caused widespread disruptions.
The Portuguese government described Kristin as an “extreme weather event” that inflicted significant damage across several regions of the country. At the height of the storm, as many as 850,000 households and institutions lost electricity during the early hours of Wednesday.
Several municipalities ordered the closure of schools, many of which remained shut on Thursday due to ongoing adverse conditions.
Ricardo Costa, regional deputy commander of the Leiria Fire Brigade, said residents continue to seek assistance as rainfall persists.
“Even though the rain is not extremely intense, it is causing extensive damage to homes,” he noted.
In Figueira da Foz, a coastal city in central Portugal, strong winds toppled a giant Ferris wheel, underscoring the severity of the storm.
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