Quintana Roo Judiciary Shakeup: Magistrates Resign before Election

The Superior Court of Justice of Quintana Roo has seen a wave of resignations from its magistrates. The resignations come ahead of the June 1 election and are in response to a constitutional reform that introduces direct voting. The resignations were formally submitted to the State Congress Office on the afternoon of Thursday, February 20. However, the Legislature had not made these public as of the following day.

The resignations are in accordance with the third paragraph of the third transitional constitutional article. This stipulates that current magistrates will automatically be included in the candidate lists unless they resign before the deadline. In this case, the deadline was February 24.

The magistrates who submitted their resignations include Carlos Lima Carvajal, Mario Aguilar Laguardia, Gustavo Adolfo del Rosal, Felipe de Jesús Solís, Luis Gabino Medina, Mariana Dávila, Adriana Cárdenas, Dulce María Tuz, and Verónica Acacio Trujillo. In their resignation letters, they expressed their wish to be considered retired magistrates once their term ends on August 31 of this year, as per the latest reform.

Although the constitutional reform allowed for two members of the Judiciary to remain in office, namely Heydén Cebada Rivas, the current president, and Ana María Castillo, it appears that they too have resigned. However, as of the time of reporting, neither Jorge Sanén Cervantes nor Renán Sánchez Tajonar, who lead the main legislative groups in Congress, have commented on the resignations.

Currently, all branches of government – Legislative, Executive, and Judicial – are issuing calls to recruit candidates for the positions of magistrates and judges. In the case of Congress, it had to adjust its registration process to include an email and a representation office in Cancún for registrations. This was after the Committee had only received two participation requests by February 20.