Background on Key Players and Relevance
Since Easter, political consultants, publicists, community managers, and electoral operatives have been in high demand by candidates for the position of Judge. These professionals, focusing on air campaigns, have built narratives and reputations for legal professionals with minimal social contact and intelligence.
Among these experts, some aim to spark conversation, establish a position, and transmit a clear, categorical message: associating their clients with the list number and ballot color. Others focus on mobilizing structures, charging a minimum of 100,000 pesos for candidates in Mexico City to secure enough votes for the Judicial Power.
A select group of judge candidates only needed to convince decision-makers of the 4T (Morena) to pass the initial evaluation (committee assessments) and secure their place on the ballot. The most influential candidates secured their spots through “common candidacies,” bypassing the need for extensive campaigning.
Campaign Strategies and Impact
For six weeks, these privileged candidates have run low-effort campaigns. With no need to differentiate themselves or boost name recognition, they’ve focused on subtle calls to vote and public relations. The most striking example is the judicial party in Baja California, which includes 14 civil judges, eight family judges, four labor judges, three traditional criminal judges, 23 oral judges in criminal matters, two on family violence against women, two mercantile judges, one in mortgage matters, and one for adolescent justice.
Voters in Baja California will choose from 16 numerary and three supernumerary mixed-competence magistrates, along with a numerary specializing in adolescent justice. They can either vote for a list with common candidates (marking the candidate’s name) or individually select from 11 women and nine men, ordered alphabetically by descending numbers.
Similarly, in the federal judicial election, 10 candidates face no competition. Historically, this mirrors the 1976 presidential election when José López Portillo was the sole candidate from registered parties (PRI, PPS, and PARM), while leftist Valentín Campa and panista Pablo Emilio Madero (as an independent) also ran.
Side Effects and Controversies
Details:
Accompanied by her staff, Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila publicly expressed distress over the cancellation of her U.S. entry visa, both from Trump administration authorities and public scrutiny. Her husband, Carlos Torres Torres, remained silent on the visa issue and the freezing of their Wells Fargo and Bank of America accounts due to alleged illicit activities.
Those familiar with her background cite two compromising factors: her partnership with former police officer Edgardo Flores Campbell in a video surveillance systems company and her brother Héctor’s controversial tenure as Tijuana customs director.
Key Questions and Answers
- Q: Who are the key players in these judicial campaigns? A: Political consultants, publicists, community managers, and electoral operatives have been in high demand by candidates for judge positions.
- Q: What strategies have these experts employed? A: Some focus on generating conversation, establishing a position, and transmitting clear messages. Others concentrate on mobilizing structures and securing votes.
- Q: How have the campaigns in Baja California unfolded? A: Candidates have run low-effort campaigns, focusing on subtle calls to vote and public relations due to their privileged positions.
- Q: What controversies surround these campaigns? A: Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila’s visa cancellation and her husband’s frozen bank accounts due to alleged illicit activities have raised concerns.
