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    Mexico Votes in Sprawling, First-Ever Judiciary Election

    Voters were choosing the nine members of the Supreme Court on Sunday, along with more than 2,600 other judges and magistrates.Voters across Mexico went to the polls on Sunday to elect thousands of judges, from the local level to the Supreme Court, pressing ahead with one of the most far-reaching judicial overhauls ever attempted by a large democracy.The process will transform the judiciary away from an appointment-based system, a change that leaders of the governing Morena party say will help root out corrupt officials, democratize the courts and give citizens a voice in who administers justice.But although most Mexicans agree that their justice system is broken, the overhaul being enacted on Sunday has drawn sharp criticism from opposition figures and legal experts. They argue that it risks giving Morena extraordinary power over a third branch of government, throws out the old system’s career requirements and opens the door to candidates who could be influenced by drug cartels.Because the election is so ambitious — more than 2,600 judges and magistrates will be elected, out of more than 7,700 candidates — some election experts expected voter turnout to be low. As voting got underway, relatively few voters could be seen lining up to vote around the country.In Tultitlán, in the state of Mexico, Jazmín Gutiérrez Ruiz, 37, was among those who cast ballots. She said that she hoped the election would root out corruption from the judiciary, and that her reasons were personal. Two of her brothers have spent two years in prison, accused of a murder “they didn’t do,” she said.“I want the magistrates and judges to change, and for them to take the time to carefully look at the cases,” said Ms. Gutiérrez Ruiz, who works for a processed meat company. “Just like my brothers, there are many people locked up unjustly.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    México vota en las primeras elecciones del poder judicial en su historia

    Los mexicanos eligieron el domingo a los nueve miembros de la Suprema Corte, junto con más de 2600 jueces y magistrados.Los votantes de todo México acudieron a las urnas el domingo para elegir a miles de jueces, desde los tribunales locales hasta la Suprema Corte, impulsando una de las modificaciones judiciales de mayor alcance jamás intentadas por una democracia grande.El proceso transformará el sistema judicial, que dejará de estar basado en nombramientos, un cambio que, según los líderes del partido gobernante, Morena, ayudará a erradicar a los funcionarios corruptos, democratizar los tribunales y dar voz a los ciudadanos para decidir quién imparte la justicia.Sin embargo, aunque la mayoría de los mexicanos concuerdan en que su sistema de justicia es deficiente, la modificación que entra el vigor el domingo ha suscitado duras críticas por parte de figuras de la oposición y expertos jurídicos. Argumentan que se corre el riesgo de otorgar a Morena un poder extraordinario sobre el tercer poder del gobierno, que elimina los requisitos de carrera del antiguo sistema y que abre la puerta a candidatos que podrían estar influenciados por los cárteles de la droga.Dado que las elecciones son tan ambiciosas —se elegirán más de 2600 jueces y magistrados, de entre más de 7700 candidatos—, algunos expertos electorales esperaban que la participación fuera baja. A medida que se iniciaba la votación, se podían ver relativamente pocas personas haciendo fila para votar en todo el país.En Tultitlán, en el Estado de México, Jazmín Gutiérrez Ruiz, de 37 años, se encontraba entre quienes emitieron su voto. Dijo que esperaba que las elecciones erradicaran la corrupción del poder judicial, y que sus motivos eran personales. Dos de sus hermanos han pasado dos años en prisión, acusados de un asesinato “que ellos no hicieron”, dijo.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    La protesta de la CNTE paralizó el AICM en Ciudad de México

    El bloqueo reflejó cómo la presidenta de México, Claudia Sheinbaum, está sufriendo la presión de algunos sindicatos y movimientos sociales, mientras una economía débil limita su capacidad para mejorar las condiciones laborales.Una protesta organizada por un poderoso sindicato de maestros mexicanos interrumpió brevemente los vuelos en el principal aeropuerto internacional de la capital el viernes por la tarde. La manifestación en demanda de mejoras salariales provocó escenas de caos y retrasó el viaje de miles de pasajeros, mientras las fuerzas de seguridad se agolpaban en las terminales del aeropuerto en un intento de imponer el orden.La paralización en Ciudad de México comenzó hacia las 2:00 p. m., hora local, y duró unos 20 minutos, mientras cientos de sindicalistas marchaban hacia las entradas del aeropuerto. La protesta también colapsó el tráfico en las calles aledañas al aeropuerto, el cual se encuentra en una zona densamente poblada de la ciudad, y se vio a agentes de policía escoltando a viajeros varados hasta el aeropuerto en camionetas. También agentes antidisturbios fueron vistos dentro del aeropuerto.Aunque la interrupción fue breve, algunos vuelos internacionales que salían de Ciudad de México fueron cancelados o retrasados durante horas el viernes. En el aeropuerto, también conocido como Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez, operan 21 aerolíneas, según su sitio web. El viernes, aerolíneas como Aeroméxico ofrecieron a sus clientes la posibilidad de reprogramar sus vuelos sin costo o pagando solo una pequeña diferencia de precio.La manifestación refleja cómo la presidenta de izquierda de México, Claudia Sheinbaum, está sufriendo la presión de algunos sindicatos y movimientos sociales, mientras una economía endeble y un enorme déficit presupuestario limitan su capacidad para aumentar los salarios y mejorar las condiciones de trabajo de muchos empleados públicos.“No hemos recibido esa atención ni ese respeto en la solución de las demandas, ni siquiera en las más mínimas, de parte del Ejecutivo federal”, dijo Eva Hinojosa Tera, dirigente sindical del estado de Michoacán, en una entrevista radiofónica el viernes.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Mexican Mayor Implicated in Drug Cartel Ranch Inquiry

    The mayor of Teuchitlán is the first government official to have been arrested in connection with the case. Prosecutors accuse him of colluding with the cartel.The mayor of a small Mexican town has been accused of colluding with one of the country’s most violent drug cartels to operate a recruitment and training center that was uncovered in March.The mayor, José Asunción Murguía Santiago was charged with organized crime offenses and forced disappearance, prosecutors said at a hearing on Friday.The site of the center, in the western state of Jalisco, gained notoriety after volunteer searchers announced the discovery of hundreds of shoes piled together, heaps of clothing and what seemed to be human bone fragments found in an abandoned ranch surrounded by sugar cane fields in Teuchitlán, a town outside Guadalajara, sending shock waves across the nation. The searchers claimed the ranch was the site of human cremations, but authorities have since said there is no proof of that.The allegations against Mr. Murguía Santiago served as a stinging reminder of Mexican officials’ long history of collusion with organized crime, at a time when President Trump has proposed using American troops to crack down on cartels. Mexico’s president refused.Attorney General Alejandro Gertz said last week that until recently the ranch in Teuchitlán had been used by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel for training and recruiting. Mexican officials have said that the cartel lured new recruits with fake job offers to the ranch.But in a departure from previous comments, Mr. Gertz insisted that there was no proof of cremations carried out there, and said claims that the site had been an “extermination camp” were unfounded. Volunteer groups have disputed the federal findings, insisting that 17 batches of charred human remains, including teeth and bone fragments, have been recovered from the ranch.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Trump Says He Asked Mexico to Let U.S. Military In to Fight Cartels

    President Trump confirmed on Sunday that he had raised the idea with his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum, who rejected it. President Trump confirmed on Sunday that he had pressed Mexico’s president to let U.S. troops into the country to help fight drug cartels, an idea she summarily rejected.Mr. Trump told reporters traveling with him aboard Air Force One from Palm Beach, Fla., to Washington that it was “true” he had made the push with President Claudia Sheinbaum. The proposal, first reported by The Wall Street Journal last week, came at the end of a lengthy phone call between the two leaders on April 16, The Journal said.Ms. Sheinbaum has also confirmed that Mr. Trump made the suggestion, and that she rejected it. Mexico and the United States can “collaborate,” she recalled telling him, but “with you in your territory and us in ours.”Mr. Trump said he proposed the idea because the cartels “are horrible people that have been killing people left and right and have been — they’ve made a fortune on selling drugs and destroying our people.”He said, “If Mexico wanted help with the cartels, we would be honored to go in and do it. I told her that. I would be honored to go in and do it. The cartels are trying to destroy our country. They’re evil.”He said, “The president of Mexico is a lovely woman, but she is so afraid of the cartels that she can’t even think straight.”Mr. Trump has had a better working relationship with Ms. Sheinbaum than with Canada’s leaders. But the relationships with both neighboring countries have been strained over trade and immigration. More

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    Mexico to Give U.S. More Water From Their Shared Rivers

    A joint agreement appeared to avert a threat by President Trump of tariffs and sanctions in a long-running dispute over water rights in the border region.Mexico has agreed to send water to the United States and temporarily channel more water to the country from their shared rivers, a concession that appeared to defuse a diplomatic crisis sparked by yearslong shortages that left Mexico behind on its treaty-bound contribution of water from the borderlands.Earlier this month, President Trump threatened additional tariffs and other sanctions against Mexico over the water debt, amounting to about 420 billion gallons. In a social media post, Mr. Trump accused Mexico of “stealing” water from Texas farmers by not meeting its obligations under a 1944 treaty that mediates the distribution of water from three rivers the two countries share: the Rio Grande, the Colorado and the Tijuana. In an agreement announced jointly by Mexico and the United States on Monday, Mexico will immediately transfer some of its water reserves and will give the country a larger share of the flow of water from the Rio Grande through October.The concession from Mexico averted the threat of more punishing tariffs and diplomatic enmity with the United States amid the rollout of Mr. Trump’s new trade policies. But fulfilling the agreement is expected to significantly strain Mexico’s farmlands and could revive civil unrest triggered by previous water payments to the United States. Much of the Mexican borderlands are enduring extreme drought conditions, according to Mexico’s meteorological agency and water commission, and Mexico’s water reserves are at historic lows.Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has taken a conciliatory approach in negotiations with the Trump administration. Hours after Mr. Trump’s threat of tariffs over the water dispute earlier this month, Ms. Sheinbaum acknowledged that her country had fallen short of its treaty commitments, citing the extreme drought and saying that Mexico had been complying “to the extent of water availability.”In a statement on Monday, the State Department lauded Ms. Sheinbaum “for her personal involvement” in negotiating the agreement, and spoke of “water scarcity affecting communities on both sides of the border.” A statement from the Mexican foreign ministry on the agreement noted that the United States had agreed not to seek a renegotiation of the 1944 water treaty.Longstanding tensions over water have simmered between Mexico and the United States. In 2020, those tensions exploded into violence in Mexico, as farmers rioted and seized control of a dam in the border region in an effort to shut off water deliveries to the United States.Rising temperatures and drought have made the water from rivers Mexico and the United States share all the more valuable.According to data provided by the International Boundary and Water Commission, which mediates water disputes between the two countries, Mexico has fallen well short of its treaty commitments on water delivery in the last five years. Between October 2020 and October 2024, Mexico provided just over 400,000 acre-feet of water, far less than the roughly 1.4 million acre-feet called for under treaty stipulations. The debt has only grown since.Emiliano Rodríguez Mega More

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    Trump Threatens More Tariffs and Sanctions on Mexico Over Long-Running Water Dispute

    President Trump on Thursday threatened additional tariffs and other sanctions against Mexico over a long-running water dispute in a potential escalation of tensions with one of America’s biggest trading partners.In a social media post, Mr. Trump accused Mexico of failing to provide 1.3 million acre-feet of water — or more than 420 billion gallons — under a 1944 treaty mediating the distribution of water from three rivers, the Rio Grande, the Colorado and the Tijuana.“Mexico has been stealing the water from Texas farmers,” Mr. Trump said, adding that “we will keep escalating consequences, including TARIFFS and, maybe even SANCTIONS, until Mexico honors the Treaty, and GIVES TEXAS THE WATER THEY ARE OWED!”Responding to Mr. Trump’s post, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, acknowledged that her country had fallen short of its treaty commitments, saying that a yearslong drought had significantly hindered its ability to provide the full amount of water the agreement called for. She said that her government had sent “a comprehensive proposal” to U.S. diplomats to deliver water to Texas and find a solution satisfactory to both countries.“To the extent of water availability, Mexico has been complying,” she wrote on social media. “I am sure that, as in other matters, an agreement will be reached.”Mexico has struck a conciliatory tone in negotiations with the Trump administration, prioritizing dialogue over threats and a cool-headed approach over retaliatory measures. The strategy seems to have earned Ms. Sheinbaum some respect from Mr. Trump, who earlier on Thursday called her “a terrific person” and “a fantastic woman.”There have been longstanding tensions over water between Mexico and the United States. In 2020, those tensions exploded into violence, with Mexican farmers seizing control of a dam in the border region in an effort to shut off water deliveries to the United States.Rising temperatures and long droughts have made water more scarce, making the water from rivers Mexico and the United States share all the more valuable.According to data provided by the International Boundary and Water Commission, which mediates water disputes between the two countries, Mexico has fallen well short of its treaty commitments on water delivery in the last five years. Between October 2020 and October 2024, Mexico provided just over 400,000 acre-feet of water, far less than the roughly 1.4 million acre-feet called for under treaty stipulations. The debt has only grown since. More

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    Mexico City Bans Traditional Bullfights for Violence-Free Option

    Showdowns between people and bulls can still go on, but the animals can no longer be hurt or killed. Some bullfighting proponents said the law imperils an ancient tradition.In the biggest bullfighting city in the largest bullfighting country in the world, Mexico City lawmakers overwhelmingly voted on Tuesday to ban traditional bullfighting — a move that was supported by Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, but was fiercely opposed by backers of the centuries-old custom.The legislation, approved by a 61-1 vote, prohibits the injuring or killing of bulls for sport, in or outside of the arenas. It will allow for what proponents call “bullfighting without violence,” in which rules determine how long a bull can be in the ring and limit bullfighters to using only capes.“My heart always beats for animal welfare,” said Xochitl Bravo Espinosa, a Mexico City legislator who helped spearhead the effort.But Ms. Bravo Espinosa said that legislators tried to find a balance in which the bullfights could go on, albeit modified, so that people who made a living off the industry could continue working. She pointed to people who sell gear and food around La Plaza México, the largest bullfighting arena in the world, which opened in 1946 in the heart of the city and seats 42,000 people.Bullfighting proponents denounced the legislation, protesting outside the Mexico City legislature’s building on Tuesday morning. “This is just the beginning of a fight for our bullfighting,” four bullfighting groups said in a joint statement later in the day.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More