MEXICO CITY (apro).- President Andrés Manuel López Obrador considered that since the arrival of Minister Norma Piña to the presidency of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) the judiciary “is worse” in the fight against corruption using independence as a pretext.
The president slipped that in their eagerness to assume themselves as independent, the ministers ended up tolerating corruption and alluding to statements that he wanted to control the Court by placing Minister Jaqueline Esquivel in the presidency, accused of plagiarizing her bachelor’s thesis and who was marked as his favourite, he said:
“The change occurred and it returned, I would not say what it was before, but worse, because they use as a pretext, as an excuse, the fact that I wanted to control the Court and that they were independent, they fight with me so that they continue tolerating corruption.”
During his conference at the National Palace, López Obrador asserted that it is not a personal matter against Minister Piña, but that it is a matter of public interest.
“She, to have strength, leaves them completely free and the judges do what they want, and from then on they begin to release alleged criminals and further degrade the Judiciary.”
As an example, he cited the day that Genaro García Luna was tried in the United States for drug trafficking, while here he was ordered to unfreeze his wife’s accounts, “it is a complete mess,” he lashed out.
“In what head can one of García Luna’s right arms be hired to be like the head of the office of the presidency of the Court?”, he questioned.
He recalled that with the presidency of Minister Arturo Zaldívar there was talk of fighting corruption, fighting nepotism and corrupt judges because there was the idea of cleaning up the Judiciary of the Federation.
The president once again referred to the 4% budget increase requested by the Federal Judiciary so that next year it will be 84 billion pesos because, among other issues, the federal elections of 2024 are considered.
López Obrador considered that the request is disrespectful to the people, since they have a trust of 20 billion pesos, and all because they feel protected by the oligarchy.
“We are not going to cut their budget, it will surely be the Chamber of Deputies, because they do have the power, but they are capable, to see if they accept the decision of the Chamber or take refuge, they look for a nook,” he said.
