The Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation enters this November 1, 2025 in an unprecedented stage: for the first time, its presidency arises from the citizen vote. Judge Gilberto de Guzmán Bátiz García, elected at the polls with more than 4.7 million votes, will assume leadership of the body in charge of arbitrating the federal elections, in compliance with the 2024 judicial reform, which transformed the way of electing the members of the Superior Court.
Mexico City, October 31 (However).- This Saturday, November 1, 2025, will be a historic day for the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation Because for the first time in its history, a Judge elected by direct and secret popular vote will assume the presidency of that collegiate body, the Judge Gilberto de Guzmán Bátiz Garcíawho relieves Judge Mónica Aralí Soto Fregoso. He will be president of the Court for two years, after having been elected with 4 million 751 thousand 253 votes in the June 2025 contest, in which he surpassed another Judge who is also already part of the Superior Chamber, Claudia Valle Aguilasocho.
On Sunday, September 15, 2024, the decree on the reform of the Judicial Branch of the Federation was promulgated, upon being published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, which came into force the following day, Monday, September 16, 2024. Article 99 of the Constitution establishes: “The Superior Chamber will be made up of seven electoral magistrates. Every two years the presidency of the Court will be renewed on a rotating basis depending on the number of votes obtained by each candidate. in the respective election, the presidency corresponding to those who obtain the highest votes.”
While in the Fourth Transitional Article of the aforementioned decree it is stated: “The magistrates of the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation who are in office at the entry into force of this Decree will remain in their position until the year 2027, concluding on the date that the public servants who emerge from the ordinary federal election held for this purpose take their oath.”
The five magistrates who were in office on the day of the elections are Mónica Aralí Soto Fregoso, Felipe Alfredo Fuentes Barrera, Felipe de la Mata Pizaña, Janine Madeline Otálora Malassis and Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón.
With respect to the new magistrates, the same Fourth Transitory article specifies: “The electoral magistrates of the Superior Chamber who have not been appointed by the Senate of the Republic upon the entry into force of this Decree will be renewed in the extraordinary election of the year 2025. The term of the electoral magistrates of the Superior Chamber who are elected in the extraordinary election of the year 2025 will last eight years, so it will expire in the year 2033; while the term of the electoral magistrates of the Superior Chamber who are elected in the ordinary federal election of the year 2027 will last six years, so it will expire in the year 2033.
THE TWO ELECTED
The two new magistrates elected in June 2025 arrived on the ballot with the support of the Executive Branch deposited in Claudia Sheinbaum. Claudia Valle Aguilasocho was president of the Monterrey Regional Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation.
It should be remembered that on Thursday, July 18, 2024, the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation (TEPJF), then made up of only five magistrates, decided to call Judge Claudia Valle Aguilasocho to participate temporarily in the process of qualification and validity of the presidential election, to integrate the minimum quorum of six magistrates established by the Law.
Meanwhile, Gilberto de Guzmán Batiz García is currently the presiding judge of the Electoral Tribunal of the State of Chiapas. From 2009 to 2011 he was director of National Relations and International Affairs of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. He arrived on the ballot nominated by the Executive Branch of the Federation.
On recent Monday, October 20, 2025, Judge Janine Madeline Otálora Malassis notified the Senate that she adheres to the appointment that was granted to her for nine years, in 2016 and that ends today, Friday, October 31, 2025. The rest of her colleagues, except those elected in 2025, will finish their term in 2027.
THE OLD STORY
Buddies and quotas was the formula that was imposed on Tuesday, October 18, 2016, when the PRI, the PAN and the PRD agreed, in the Senate of the Republic, who would be the seven new electoral magistrates, appointed on Thursday, October 20, 2016 during an ordinary session. According to sources from the Political Coordination Board, cited by the newspaper Reforma, the three groups determined that, of the seven positions of the federal Electoral Tribunal, three would be defined by the PRI, two by the PAN, one by the PRD and one more by agreement of all political forces.
The priority for the PRI was the appointment of Felipe Fuentes Barrera; For the PAN, the card played in the negotiation was Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón and the PRD placed Indalfer Infante González on the table. According to senators consulted by the newspaper Reforma, these three candidates could hold office for 9 years, concluding their term in 2025 and, therefore, could qualify the presidential contests of 2018 and 2024.
Of the rest of the candidates, two would be until 2022 and two more until 2019. José Luis Vargas Valdez had the support of the PRI; Mónica Aralí Soto Fragoso arrived with the support of the coordinator of the PRI senators Emilio Gamboa; Felipe de la Maza Pizaña was promoted by the PAN; and Janine Madeline Otálora Malassis was supported by PAN and PRD.
On Thursday, October 27, 2016, Congress approved reforms to the opinion of the appointments of the seven judges elected on Thursday, October 20, 2016, to extend their terms of office: with the approved modifications, judges José Luis Vargas Valdez and Indalfer Infante Gonzáles, originally elected by the Senate to serve until 2019, would remain in office until October 31, 2023.
Felipe Alfredo Fuentes Barrera and Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón, magistrates elected to remain until 2022, would remain in office until October 31, 2024. Meanwhile, Felipe de la Mata Pizaña, Mónica Aralí Soto Fregoso and Janine Madeline Otálora Malassís, will carry out their duties under the terms of the election held by the Senate on October 20, 2016, that is, until on October 31, 2025.
Scandals
The two presidents of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation who preceded Mónica Aralí Soto Fregoso, José Luis Vargas Valdez and Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón, ended their terms in the midst of scandals. Vargas Valdez was dismissed in August 2021 and Rodríguez Mondragón resigned in December 2023.
By majority vote of his fellow judges of the Superior Chamber, José Luis Vargas Valdez was removed from the presidency of this body in August 2021 amid allegations of corruption. Former official in the Government of Felipe Calderón, linked to the PRI in the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto and with certain winks towards Morena, Vargas Valdez was a character who sought proximity to the power in power. The Financial Intelligence Unit, then commanded by Santiago Nieto, denounced Vargas Valdez in 2020, just when he assumed the presidency of the Electoral Court, for illicit enrichment exceeding 36 million pesos. The Attorney General’s Office of the Republic exonerated him. (However, October 31, 2023).
In September 2021, journalist Álvaro Delgado published in However that Reyes Mondragón was accused of allegedly demanding “moches” from employees he hired. A file integrated with documentary and testimonial information by the General Directorate of Investigation of Administrative Responsibilities of the Electoral Tribunal, to which SinEmbargo had access, showed that Rodríguez Mondragón had incurred serious administrative offenses.
According to the investigation, initiated from a complaint filed in 2020, the Electoral Magistrate promoted promotions of personnel within his position and the General Directorate of Institutional Planning and Evaluation of the TEPJF to “exhaust” the budget resources and in exchange he demanded a “moche” from them.
Judge Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón arrived at the electoral court backed by PAN member Roberto Gil Zuarth, who was Senator of the Republic and private secretary of Felipe Calderón when he held the Presidency of the Republic. Gil Zuarth promoted Rodríguez Mondragón’s career since they both studied Law at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM) and the former PAN official has, precisely, a law firm.
Until before the judicial reform of September 2024, which requires the election of electoral magistrates by direct and secret popular vote, electoral magistrates were appointed with the votes of two-thirds of the members present in the Senate of the Republic, from shortlists that were proposed by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.
Electoral magistrates can only be dismissed through the Impeachment procedure and with the intervention of the chambers of deputies and senators. In addition, they may be disqualified from performing functions, jobs, positions or commissions of any nature in the public service.
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