IPS-English MEXICO: Supreme Court Earns New Respect Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:43:09 -0700 ROMAIPS LA HD IP MEXICO: Supreme Court Earns New Respect Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Jul 5 (IPS) - In July 2006, the opposition in Mexico accused the Supreme Court of Justice, in theory the chief upholder of the constitution, of committing one of the worst possible felonies: colluding with corruption and acting as an accomplice to electoral fraud. In just one year, the Supreme Court has managed to turn its image around 180 degrees, to the point that even its harshest critics at that time are now praising its verdicts against big business interest groups, its investigations of human rights violations and its fight against local government corruption. This change is partly due to reforms that were introduced in the mid-1990s to raise the Supreme Court to the level of a constitutional court, and make it the final court of appeal for any conflict between the branches of the State. The Supreme Court was given autonomy and power to investigate serious cases of violations of legal rights. Furthermore, all the previous judges, who had tenure for life, were removed from office and 11 new judges, with 15-year terms of office, were appointed. In spite of this, satisfaction with the Supreme Court has not been the norm in Mexico. For decades, the court was linked to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) which ruled the country from 1929 to 2000, and its influence as an institution was nearly nil. During Vicente Fox's presidency (2000-2006) it achieved a higher profile, but so did criticism of its decisions. In 2002, leftwing social and political activists claimed the Supreme Court was ”racist” when it rejected opposition to constitutional reforms affecting indigenous culture, raised by the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) who are entrenched in the southern state of Chiapas, the poorest in the country. The opposition also criticised the 2005 verdict that upheld a lawsuit against a poet who wrote disrespectfully about Mexico's national emblems in one of his works. The court judged that his action fell within the definition of the crime of ”contempt for the national flag.” In August 2006, the opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) accused the Supreme Court of being ”corrupt and ineffective.” The PRD's accusation was made after the Supreme Court refused to consider allegations of electoral fraud against the PRD presidential candidate Andrés López Obrador in the Jul. 2 elections, which brought to power the currently serving president, Felipe Calderón, by a narrow margin. The Court judges, each of whom earns about 16,000 dollars a month, argued that the Electoral Tribunal was the highest authority in the case and therefore they could not intervene, unless at least one judge from the Electoral Tribunal requested they do so, with substantiated cause. ”We must rescue the Supreme Court from the hands of the privileged group who run it and dominate it. It has stopped imparting justice and has devoted itself to protect white-collar criminals and corrupt elements,” said López Obrador, who also accused the judges of being ”accomplices to fraud.” Today, however, the PRD is gratified by the recent verdicts of the highest court in the country, as are other analysts identified with the left. The Supreme Court was the centre of attention this month when it dealt a major blow to the previously untouchable Televisa and TVAzteca. It declared that several clauses of a radio and television law, approved last year under pressure from the two media giants, were unconstitutional. The Court judges adopted a policy of unprecedented transparency for their debate on this matter. They broadcast the entire proceedings live on a public television channel. They posted the draft verdict on their Internet page, without any access restrictions. It said that the law favoured the concentration of media ownership, which was against the public interest. The Court has decided to investigate accusations of human rights violations allegedly committed by the authorities during a social rebellion in the southern state of Oaxaca, between May and November 2006. The judges have also agreed to review legal action taken against journalist Lydia Cacho, who revealed the existence of a child abuse network and was subsequently sued for defamation. Cacho's prosecution was allegedly interfered with by the state government of Puebla, in central Mexico, in collusion with the plaintiff, a member of the business community. Another decision supported by most politicians, and which was also broadcast live on television, was reached in February, when the judges ruled, in a split vote, that it was unconstitutional to discharge troops who were HIV-positive from the armed forces, as was then current practice. All the political parties and many observers complimented the Supreme Court on its rulings, as in their view it is proving itself to be an authentic guarantor of Mexican laws and civil rights. ”We are learning to respect the Supreme Court, and we should continue to do so, not only when we approve of its decisions but also when we think they are reactionary or mistaken,” constitutional lawyer Diego Pedroza told IPS. ”We have a branch of the State that is showing signs of independence, and that's good for the democracy that Mexico is building,” he said. Meanwhile, Supreme Court president Guillermo Ortiz said on Jun. 26 that the Court is not interested in seeking the limelight, and is only acting on the basis of the law and seeking transparency. ”The recent decisions are important, but they are simply part of our daily work,” he said. The new climate of positive public opinion will face a major test in the coming weeks. The Court must reach a decision about an injunction presented by the attorney general's office, which depends on the conservative Calderón administration, against a law decriminalising abortions carried out before the 12th week of pregnancy in the Mexican capital. The issue is so controversial that whatever the Supreme Court judges decide, a large proportion of the population and the politicians will be dissatisfied. ***** + MEDIA-MEXICO: Supreme Court Deals Blow to Powerful Broadcasters (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38069) + HEALTH-MEXICO: Abortion No Longer a Crime in Capital (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37477) + MEXICO: Discharge of HIV-Positive Troops Ruled Unconstitutional (http://ipsnews.net/sendnews.asp?idnews=36769) + MEXICO: How Many Deaths Is the Oaxaca Governor Worth? (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35353) + MEXICO: Ties Between Elites and Child Sex Rings ”Beyond Imagination” (http://ipsnews.net/print.asp?idnews=34710) + ELECTIONS-MEXICO: Conservative Calderón Wins, but Left Challenges Result (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33885) (END/IPS/LA IP HD/TRASP-VD-SW/DC/JSP-MJ/07) = 07052046 ORP010 NNNN