Norma Piña defends judicial independence before López Obrador

The act of commemoration of the Mexican Constitution, which is now 106 years old, has served to bring together the powers of the State this Sunday, pending each other, always under the protection of the words of the President of the Executive, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Held in Querétaro, an hour and a half from Mexico City, representatives of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, State Secretaries and the president of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), Norma Piña, accompanied the president.

Piña has taken the opportunity to defend the independence of the judiciary.

The judges are a regular target of López Obrador's criticism during his morning press conferences.

The president has had no problem repeating over the years that he does not trust the judges, partially guilty, in his opinion, of the corruption networks that grip the country.

Just a few days ago, he insisted on criticizing him, following the challenges that the opposition has made to the electoral reform that his government has pushed.

López Obrador criticized that the majority of judges serve the "old regime" and that "conservatives" influence the decisions of the Supreme Court.

Given this scenario, Piña has dedicated his speech this Sunday to defend the judiciary, its work and independence.

“Judicial independence is not a privilege of judges, it is the principle that guarantees an adequate administration of justice to make effective the freedoms and equality of Mexicans.

Judicial independence is the main guarantee of impartiality”, he said.

Piña added that "it is healthy and necessary to ponder the activity of judges" and that "our actions must be attached to the law to avoid arbitrariness and, in the face of society, to be accountable in the exercise of our function."

López Obrador, who has spoken after the minister president, has avoided polemicizing on this occasion.

The presidential communication coordinator, Jesús Ramírez, has criticized on his Twitter account that Piña has not stood up to the president: "In the act of the 106th anniversary of the Mexican Constitution we witnessed the vitality of our institutions with a debate of ideas between the representatives of the three powers of the Union.

It is unfortunate that not everyone respected the protocol of the ceremony."

In the act of the 106th anniversary of the Mexican Constitution, we witnessed the vitality of our institutions with a debate of ideas between the representatives of the three powers of the Union.

It is unfortunate that not everyone respected the protocol of the ceremony.

pic.twitter.com/abxPE0qQQF

— Jesús Ramírez Cuevas (@JesusRCuevas) February 5, 2023

It is no secret that the president and Piña maintain somewhat distant positions, compared at least with the closeness that the president had to the predecessor of the president of the SCJN, Arturo Zaldívar.

Asked about her a few days ago, she said: "There is communication because, regardless of the differences we may have about the behavior of the judges, which we are going to continue pointing out, there is joint work, because the general interest is involved, the interest of the town".

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