The eventual appointment of Hugo Aguilar Ortiz as the new president of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) represents an opportunity to redefine the role of the judiciary in Mexico from an inclusive perspective that is sensitive to demands for social justice, especially for Indigenous peoples.
However, the new leadership faces significant challenges, including maintaining judicial independence, managing political polarization, and balancing demands for inclusion with economic and global pressures.
Aguilar Ortiz’s ability to navigate the institutional framework will be key; his focus on constitutional and conventional review could strengthen the rule of law; and his leadership could be a step toward a more pluralistic justice system, albeit with risks of political instrumentalization.
His impact will depend on how he manages to articulate his Indigenous identity, his legal experience, and his political position within and outside of Morena, and vis-à-vis President Claudia Sheinbaum. There is a risk that his identity will be instrumentalized to consolidate state power, rather than promote genuine structural change.
Aguilar could push for a Court that recognizes Indigenous legal systems and promotes intercultural justice. This would resonate with theories that question the universalism of Western law and advocate for epistemologies from the South. However, her closeness to the ruling party could limit her ability to challenge the status quo, especially if judicial reforms reinforce state control over the judiciary.
Strengthening social and Indigenous justice: Aguilar could prioritize cases related to Indigenous rights, communal lands, and cultural diversity, aligning herself with the ruling party’s inclusion agenda. This could transform the SCJN’s jurisprudence toward a more pluralistic approach that is sensitive to marginalized communities.
Her leadership could exacerbate the polarization between those who see her election as a step toward the democratization of the judiciary and those who perceive it as a political capture of the judiciary. Her ability to build consensus will be crucial to maintaining the SCJN’s legitimacy.