Mexico City Judicial Union holds opaque elections to re-elect its leader

MEXICO CITY (apro).- The Sole Union of Workers of the Judicial Branch of Mexico City (SUTPJCDMX), the majority union in the institution, held the election to renew its leadership with opacity, excessive surveillance, and suspicion of any attempt to prevent the reelection of Diego Valdez Medina, union leader for 24 years, whose slate was the only one participating in the elections.

Before 10:00 a.m., the time scheduled for the election to begin, Doctor Andrade Street in the Doctores neighborhood was closed at the corners of Claudio Bernard and Doctor Velasco.

Thus, the building located at 95 Dr. Andrade Street, which houses the SUTPJCDMX offices, was practically surrounded by vans and cars belonging to members of the union itself, who set up guards around it to oversee the election.

To do this, they brought out some chairs to rest while the day progressed.

This Tuesday was also the last day of work for the PJCDMX (Mexico City Justice Department), which will begin its first vacation period tomorrow, Wednesday, and will resume jurisdictional activities on August 4.

During the morning, the turnout of workers who managed to find time to vote was slow; around noon, union members were arriving in dribs and drabs, wearing their court badges with the distinctive green ribbons bearing the initials TSJCDMX or PJCDMX.

Diego Valdez arrived at the polling place around 1:30 p.m., taking advantage of the low turnout of union members, to cast his vote and quickly left.

Although the union election was part of the demands of the workers who began a work stoppage on May 28, which ended just a week ago, these elections were held, once again, with a single slate, that of Diego Valdez.

On Monday, at a press conference, members of the "Maroon" slate, headed by José Nezahualcóyotl Salinas, the "White" slate, headed by Erika Ojeda Contreras, and the "Blue" slate, headed by Araceli Mendoza Gómez, urged workers not to participate in the election, considering it a sham.

This is because on July 2, the last day for registering slates, they submitted their paperwork to run for union leadership, but were rejected on the grounds that the signatures they submitted were false, that they did not comply with gender parity, and that they did not meet the minimum 15 years of "union experience."

Therefore, the arrival of any unfamiliar face aroused suspicion among those tasked with guarding the elections, reinforced by a group of young men on motorcycles carrying wireless communication radios and distinguished from the others by wearing black jackets with the image of a white skull on their right arms.

During Proceso's tour on election day, a union member attempted to prevent the taking of images, and despite the reporter's prior identification, questions were raised about who had ordered her to document the event.

Meanwhile, the workers arriving to vote took the opportunity to greet their colleagues guarding the building; their encounters prompted the inevitable hugs and effusive handshakes.

An hour before the polls closed, union members estimated the turnout of 1,300 voters. Their satisfaction was notable, as 500 votes were enough to renew Diego Valdez's leadership.

The atmosphere among the security guards and voters was always cheerful, so much so that they took the opportunity to celebrate with a small cake for one of the members of the Electoral Commission, whom they cheered and applauded: "Bety, Bety, Bety," "Bety, the Judiciary is with you."

At around 6:00 p.m., the closing time for the polling stations, nearly 100 people gathered outside the union building. Among them were those who had been on guard early and those who joined them after they had cast their votes.

At the corner of Dr. Velasco, the trunk of a car served as a temporary dining room for a group of workers who organized to deliver tacos.

Union members expect the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Court to issue a formal notice of reelection within 15 days, formalizing the reelection of their leader, Diego Valdez, and his entire team.

Conflicting versions

The SUTPJCDMX election was held despite accusations from workers that Diego Valdez is barred from participating because he is a confidential employee, has not met the minimum three-year union membership dues, and has an open investigation file stemming from complaints arising from the last election.

Union members explained that the investigation file stemmed from a challenge filed 12 years ago against Valdez's reelection as secretary general of SUTPJCDMX, but that there are already two court rulings in which the union leader was exonerated.

That case is currently pending a writ of amparo, so they rejected the idea that Valdez was barred from participating in this election.

They also alleged that members of the red and blue slates were excluded from the election for allegedly having administrative proceedings pending for work abandonment.

In the case of Erika Ojeda, they stated that she could not participate as a candidate because she is not affiliated with SUTPJCDMX.

Proceso reported that the SUTPJCDMX receives annual support from the Judiciary, headed by Rafael Guerra Álvarez. In the first half of this year alone, the Diego Valdez administration received 3.865 billion pesos in support for sports activities, Mother's Day, rent, and operating expenses.