International
A candidate for the Supreme Court denounces an unequal dispute in the judicial election of Mexico
Carlos Enrique Odriozola has no party or structure. Nor does it enjoy reflectors or previous positions in the Judiciary. And yet, he competes for a chair in the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) of Mexico in an unprecedented electoral process that, he assures, is unequal and is marked by citizen apathy.
“There is no even floor, we are not all starting from the same base,” he says in an interview with EFE about the campaigns to seek the vote that began on March 30.
He assures that there are candidates who arrive at the historic judicial election in Mexico with an armed network, with resources, with exposure, while competitors like him just now take to the streets to present themselves to the people.
The lawyer has been litigating in courts and tribunals throughout Mexico for 30 years, also before the Court.
To his credit, he says, he has at least 40 theses of jurisprudence on human rights issues, obtained through strategic litigation.
His motivation for reaching the highest court in the country is that “the Supreme Court has the possibility of permeating the entire judicial raming. From there you can achieve a real impact on people’s lives.”
Odriozola recognizes the value of the judicial reform that for the first time will allow 3,422 citizens, on June 1, to compete in elections for one of the 881 positions in courts, tribunals, the new Court of Judicial Discipline, the Electoral Tribunal and the Supreme Court, but also points out the vices.
“Some candidates could feel like puppets of a simulation. Possibly because we are candidates who have no structure. If they chose us so that people can get to know us and can value who is really willing to make a change and if people vote for us, it may be that that change is possible,” he says.
The candidate, who will identify himself with the number 57 on the ballots in the judicial election of Mexico, remembers having filed a formal complaint with the National Electoral Institute (INE) so that the participations are not so unequal, but has not yet received a response.
Odriozola details that he continues his campaign without paying for campaigns on networks and with limited presence in Mexico City until May, the last 28 days of his campaign, when he will go out to tour the country.
“We are going to 15% of the campaign (spending) ceiling,” he confesses. “Because we haven’t traveled much either and we plan to do it from May, especially with the friendly invitations that they have already started to make us in some entities,” he adds.
In addition to the imbalance between candidacies, Odriozola faces another challenge: the indifference of the electorate to a historic moment.
“I see people with a lot of discouragement. They don’t have confidence in the process, in the generality of people. There is not enough information or even understanding of what is being voted on, despite its importance,” he acknowledges.
His call is direct: “Not participating is handing over the Court to the structures.”
“Regomidde the fact that one can agree with the process, it is the process that exists and it is the only way that citizens have today to get to court,” he adds.
Odriozola proposes to integrate his presentation with a team selected by public competition, with gender parity, inclusive approach and respect for human rights.
“I want to make my presentation a microcosm of very prepared lawyers, very conscious, with a lot of social awareness,” he says.
It also proposes to effectively monitor jurisprudence and ensure that judgments are not only understood, but that they are executed.
He claims not to want “paper judgments”, that the treatment with the parties involved is equal, so he proposes to receive all equally and avoid “selective ear” pleas and so that “they can leave with the certainty” that “their evidence was evaluated.”
And in front of the new Judicial Discipline Court, he says not to be afraid.
“Since I am not going to commit acts of corruption and I am only going to proceed with all probity, I am not pressured or impressed by the existence of that court,” he concludes.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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