Under the pretext of alleged gender-based political violence, some institutions such as the INE and some federal and state court judges seek to censor and inhibit the freedom of expression of those who inconvenience or expose the corruption of politicians, candidates and public officials.
Mexico City, October 15 (However).- With the unanimous vote of six magistrates present, the Upper Room of the Tribunal Electoral of the Judicial Branch of the Federation today revoked and annulled a sentence of the Specialized Regional Chamber against the academic and researcher of the University of Guadalajara Rogelio Campos Cornejowhom the president of the Electoral and Citizen Participation Institute of Jalisco, Paula Ramírez Höhne, denounced in June 2024 for alleged political violence based on gender.
The president of the Electoral Court, Mónica Aralí Soto Fregoso and his fellow judges Gilberto de Guzmán Bátiz García, Felipe Alfredo Fuentes Barrera, Janine Madeline Otálora Malassis and Claudia Valle Aguilasocho approved the sentence prepared by Judge Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón, when resolving an Appeal for Review of the Special Sanctioning Procedure promoted by Campos Cornejo.
The lawsuit against Campos Cornejo arose from questions about the result of the gubernatorial election in Jalisco held in June 2024, plagued by irregularities, strangely inexplicable statistics and a presumed inefficiency, real or deliberate, of the electoral authority, which benefited the Citizen Movement candidate for governor, Jesús Pablo Lemus Navarro. The complaint made by Paula Ramírez Höhne, president of the Jalisco Electoral Institute, was derived from a publication by Rogelio Campos on the social network “X”, in the following terms: “El Herradero de Lorenzita”, referring to the disorder and chaos that prevailed in the Jalisco elections.
The ruling notes that, although the Specialized Regional Chamber recognized the journalistic activity of Rogelio Campos Cornejo, in the specialty of electoral analysis and public opinion, it did not take into account the standards of protection for communicators and the character of Paula Ramírez Höhne as a public official, and determined that gender-based political violence had been exercised in the phrase “El herradero de Lorenzita.”
With the sentence approved today by the Plenary of the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation, the previous sentence of the Specialized Regional Chamber that had imposed on the academic and political analyst, Campos Cornejo, a fine of 50 UMAs (Units of Measurement and Update), equivalent to 5 thousand 428.50 pesos, is annulled, in addition to the obligation to issue a public apology on his social network account “X” for 30 consecutive days, publish the extract of the sentence, take a gender course and in addition, your name would be registered in the National Registry of Persons Sanctioned for Political Gender Violence for one year and six months.
WEIGHTINGS
When casting her vote in favor of the ruling that revokes the sanctions against Campos Cornejo, Judge Otálora Malassis considered that criticism against a public servant is valid within the framework of public debate and that the expression by which Paula Ramírez presented her complaint could have been addressed, equally, to any person, male or female, since it has no gender implications.
Likewise, Judge Otálora Malassis pointed out that criticism of the employment relationship between public servants, such as in this case Paula Ramírez who collaborated with the former president of the National Electoral Institute Lorenzo Córdova Vianello, before becoming president of the Electoral Institute of Jalisco, does not in itself imply political violence based on gender. And he warned that the concept of gender-based political violence cannot be used discretionally to present complaints to the electoral authority.
According to her official professional record, displayed on the digital platform of the Jalisco Electoral Institute, the current president, Paula Ramírez, worked from 2011 to 2018, first at the Federal Electoral Institute and then (since 2014) at the National Electoral Institute. She was coordinator of advisors to the Executive Secretary of the INE between January 2015 and December 2018. During this period she was under the orders of Edmundo Jacobo Molina, who was executive secretary of the INE, from April 11, 2014 to April 3, 2023, during the presidency of Lorenzo Córdova Vianello.
Jacobo Molina was an unconditional member of Córdova Vianello’s group, which from the National Electoral Institute conducted itself in a partial and complacent manner with the brotherhood of the PRI, PAN, PRD parties and was severely critical and energetic with the Morena party and with the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. On October 26, 2021, in an official statement, the General Council of the National Electoral Institute reported the appointment, as president of the Electoral Institute of Jalisco, of Paula Ramírez, for a period of seven years.
Paula Ramírez’s proximity to the dominant group in the INE could have been the determining factor in the rejection of four candidates for the presidency of the Electoral Institute of Jalisco who obtained better grades in the knowledge test administered by the country’s highest electoral administrative authority.
An official statement released by the INE on July 29, 2021 offered the list of the 15 female candidates who obtained the best evaluations in the knowledge exam: first, Catalina Moreno Trillo with a score of 8.83; in second place, Christian Analí Temores Orozco, with a rating of 8.43; third, María Dolores Ruiz Ambriz, with a rating of 8.20; fourth, Mírian Guadalupe Gutiérrez Mora, with 7.97 points and Paula Ramírez Höhne, with 7.60 qualification points.
On October 26, 2021, the newspaper Reforma referred to the issue: “INE chooses Oples holders amid complaints. The list includes candidates who are linked to rulers, parties and officials of the Institute. Of the 13 institutes that will have a new holder, seven were voted unanimously […] The most criticized by both parties and councilors were that of Colima, Adriana Ruiz; that of Querétaro, Teresita Adriana Sánchez; and that of Jalisco, Paula Ramírez.”
REASONINGS
In the sentence approved by the Superior Chamber of the Court, it is indicated that the arguments of Rogelio Campos Cornejo are founded and sufficient to revoke the resolution, in what was a matter of challenge, in that the responsible Chamber carried out an incorrect analysis of the expression and the context in which it was issued, since the gender element of the infraction is not configured in the reported expression, since the differentiated impact on the complainant in her capacity as a woman, therefore, is protected by the exercise of the right to freedom of expression of the person who spread it.
Consequently, says the ruling prepared by Judge Reyes Rodríguez Mondragón, it is noted that the expression “El herradero de Lorenzita” is intended to indicate a relationship of origin or work affinity—correctly or incorrectly perceived—and can be used with respect to both men and women, hence it cannot be understood as a manifestation that seeks to objectify, devalue or exclude the complainant for being a woman, since it is It is part of a political criticism regarding his possible closeness to a former electoral official and the impact that this could have on the institutional decisions of the body he presides over.
Thus, the sentence concludes, the message “El Herradero de Lorenzita” is a judgment on the possible public performance of the official and emerges from the context regarding the public debate raised around the political-electoral tension in the state of Jalisco at that time, derived from the electoral results in the electoral process and the request for a recount of votes by the Morena party, on the occasion of the renewal of the governorship of Jalisco.
Therefore, the publication aimed at giving an opinion on the alleged management of a public servant must be considered protected by the right to freedom of expression, in its aspect of political criticism that, although it could be pejorative, insidious or in bad taste, does not have the purpose or result of undermining the political-electoral rights of the complainant. It must be taken into account that, when exercising a public office, it is subject to a standard or a broader threshold of tolerance to the accusations that could be received against it, concludes the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal.
The highest jurisdictional authority in electoral matters indicates that, for the reasons stated, the contested ruling must be revoked, because the infraction consisting of gender-based political violence attributed to Rogelio Campos Cornejo does not exist. It is non-existent, since the gender element that makes up the violation is not updated, since the expression was issued within the framework of the right to freedom of expression and that, regardless of whether it is unpleasant, lacks any gender stereotype that has the consequence of unjustifiably detracting from Paula Ramírez’s public image or limiting or violating her political-electoral rights due to the fact that she is a woman. Therefore, the sanction that the Specialized Regional Chamber imposed on Campos Cornejo, as well as the respective measures of reparation and guarantees of non-repetition decreed, were without effect.