Politics: Glaring design flaws allow government and many others to disregard court rulings
When a Yucatan judge recently ordered a halt to all felling of trees and clearing of land to accommodate an especially controversial leg of the federal government’s Maya Train line, the government quickly made it clear that it would continue to plow through the jungle. It was not the first time the courts had ordered work on the intercity rail project in Mexico’s southeast be suspended, nor the first time the government had chosen to simply ignore the courts.
In fact, such displays of contempt of the Judiciary by the president and cabinet officials have been recurrent in this administration, but it is by no means a phenomenon exclusive to the federal government. There is a long history of state governments, Congress and federal agencies, among others, preceding in the same manner. By incurring in such practices, these legislative and executive bodies call into question the division of powers and leave citizens defenseless since the Judiciary’s rulings are aimed at protecting and respecting their human rights.
This history highlights glaring weaknesses in institutional design as the Judiciary in Mexico has few instruments with which to prevent or frustrate contempt of court decisions. Although this regulatory weakness allows acts of contempt to go unpunished, the Court has yet to denounce the situation. Could this year’s election of Minister Norma Piña to preside over the Supreme Court lead to a significant change in this regard?
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