Breathe
By Julieta del Río Venegas, INAI commissioner; she was the first woman to preside the Zacatecas Institute of Transparency and Access to Information, head of the Internal Control Organ of the SFP, and comptroller of the state of Zacatecas.
We are already in 2023 and the Chamber of Deputies has not yet "unlocked" the process of the Technical Evaluation Committee to renew four INE counselors who must take office in April, that is, in less than two months. Time is pressing, polarization is increasing and democracy is waiting; this picture is worrisome if we consider the clarity and organization necessary for the correct development of the elections.
According to Article 41 of the Constitution, the appointments of electoral counselors are the exclusive power of the Chamber of Deputies (by qualified majority, i.e. 334 votes), but these appointments are previously proposed by a Technical Evaluation Committee whose function is to evaluate the profiles of the candidates, which must be made up of seven citizens who are experts in the field: INAI proposes two members, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) another two, and the Political Coordination Board of the Chamber of Deputies (JUCOPO) the last three, who, based on a serious and professional analysis. After the committee is formed, it proposes a quintet of candidates for the electoral councilors (in this case, four quintets for the four positions to be filled).
Since December 2022, INAI unanimously selected two members of the Technical Evaluation Committee (María Esther Azuela Gómez and Sergio López Ayllón), although the Jucopo indicated that it would challenge the appointment of one of the two members proposed by our Institute. To date, we have not received any notification in this regard.
Days go by and the Chamber of Deputies does not resolve the matter. Let us recall that last December 23, the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judiciary of the Federation (TEPJF) ordered to modify the original call to guarantee that this Committee acts autonomously from the Jucopo; respects the rules regarding gender parity, and clearly distinguishes the profiles proposed for president of the General Council of INE from the other three electoral councils to be filled.
Apparently, this Thursday's agenda in the Chamber of Deputies will address the Court's recommendation, but we must be attentive to how this will be done.
In this regard, recently, the Secretary of the Interior Adán Augusto López called on his party's deputies not to negotiate with the opposition and assured that the best method to elect the new electoral councilors is by insaculation, that is to say, by drawing lots. If this were the outcome of the process, which would imply the renunciation of consensus and agreements among legislators, undoubtedly a foundational element in a democracy, the Technical Evaluation Committee becomes even more relevant.
The participation of two autonomous bodies such as INAI and the CNDH in this INE's renewal process is intended to guarantee that the appointments of board members are not subordinated to a logic but to the plurality of ideas. The separation of powers, as well as the independence and autonomy of the autonomous bodies, is not a concession or a formal gift; on the contrary, it is the pillar that sustains the Rule of Law, as well as our democracy, which is only possible thanks to the existence of a system of checks and balances; in short, of equilibrium.
To avoid simulation and opacity, the Technical Evaluation Committee, which has been supported from the beginning by INAI, must be formed as a matter of urgency.
Let us be alert to the legislative process; let us become social comptrollers and protect our Mexican democracy.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of Opinion 51.
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