Mexican courts strike down electoral reforms in Puebla and gender alternation rules

Mexico's highest judicial bodies have issued several rulings impacting electoral rules and political representation. The Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación (TEPJF) determined that a reform reducing the number of proportional representation councilors (regidurías) in Puebla is unconstitutional. The TEPJF argued the new scheme violates principles of political pluralism and certainty, as the use of vague terms like “hasta” (up to) creates uncertainty regarding the number of seats assigned to minorities.

Separately, the Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) invalidated laws in Durango and San Luis Potosí that mandated gender alternation for gubernatorial candidacies. While the Court upheld the constitutional principle of gender parity, it ruled that forcing a sequential alternation of genders for a single executive office exceeds legislative authority and creates unconstitutional access conditions. The Court noted that while parity is a mandate, automatic alternation is not a constitutional requirement for these positions.