Children, couples, dads, nephews, uncles, brothers-in-law and even mothers-in-law of at least 500 judges and magistrates of the Judiciary occupy positions in courts and tribunals of their ascription or of others, reveals a study carried out in 31 states and that was delivered to the Council of the Federal Judiciary (CJF) and the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN).
This study, prepared by the counselor of the Judiciary, Felipe Borrego Estrada, also reached the hands of Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) and also reveals that the “client networks” of judges and magistrates extend to seven thousand 148 public servants of 31 circuits that also have relatives in the payroll.
According to the diagnosis, almost half of the federal judges and magistrates have relatives in the Judiciary: of 311 places reviewed in 31 circuits, 501 have relatives, which represents 48.6%.
According to the report, 112 judges and magistrates would have used their powers to get employment for their wife or partner, 180 their children, 136 their siblings and 27 their fathers, and although he identifies each judge an employee by his file number, the study does not provide their names.
Article 97 of the constitution empowers judges and magistrates to appoint and remove officials and employees of Circuit Courts and District Courts.
This legal provision was conceived to guarantee the autonomy of the judges, but it has only served for the discretional appointment of relatives.
And even worse, not only circuit magistrates and district judges manage to generate client networks by misusing this attribution.
The study shows that secretaries, actuaries, officers, and administrators have relatives in the same circuit and in others, and they influence the appointment without being able to initiate them (initiate processor file) any type of responsibility.
Even the judges exchange jobs for their relatives with colleagues from other circuits, who correspond in the same way.
One of the most notable cases is that of a magistrate from the Durango circuit who integrated 17 members of his family, including children, brothers, sisters, sisters-in-law, cousins, and nephews in administrative positions, with positions of actuaries, court clerks, and court. , legal adviser and specialized analyst.
Two other magistrates from San Luis Potosí and Baja California have 11 relatives each, says the study, whose data was compiled by counselor Felipe Borrego Estrada on visits from January 28, 2016, to January 31, 2017, in 31 circuits of the country, and the information gathered was corroborated with information from the CJF.
There are states where nepotism is more serious. This is the case of the sixteenth circuit, corresponding to Guanajuato, where 38 of 46 owners have relatives, that is, 82.61%.
The only circuit not included in the study is the first one, corresponding to Mexico City, because “those responsible for the study could not obtain information”. Neither did they obtain data in the courts of Nezahualcóyotl and Naucalpan.
In the circuit corresponding to Aguascalientes, 81% of the judges and magistrates have relatives working with them. Of 16 owners of courts and courts, 13 have family members.
The circuit corresponding to Jalisco ranks third with more judges who have relatives in the Judiciary, with 76%.
Despite being the smallest state, Tlaxcala registers one of the highest percentages of judicial nepotism, 70% in the case of judges and 45% among the officers of the twenty-eighth circuit.
While the third circuit, which corresponds to Jalisco, occupies the first national place in hiring the children of judges and magistrates: 33 judges have in the same Federal Judicial Power 54 of their children.
Judges also tend to integrate their partners in the payroll: of the 31 circuits analyzed, 112 judges were identified who have their spouse, partner or ex-wife working in the Judicial Branch. The sixth circuit of Puebla stands out, where 11 pairs of judges and magistrates have been employed, the sixteenth of Guanajuato with 10 cases and the eighteenth of Morelos with nine.
Finally, the study reveals that 136 judges have brothers who work in the courts and tribunals. In this case, Michoacán is in first place, with 20 of these cases, followed by Jalisco with 17, and in the case of employing parents, this practice took place in eleven circuits, where the parents of 27 magistrates work. The case of Puebla stands out, where dads or mums of 13 judges were employed.
Source: Proceso.com.mx
