The recent "judicial election" in Mexico was not a democratic exercise, but rather a reflection of the internal chaos within Morena and the collapse of Lenia Batres's nepotistic project in the Supreme Court. With 73% of voters following a pre-printed cheat sheet in favor of Hugo Aguilar Ortiz, it became clear that the process was neither free nor citizen-driven, but rather an internal party affair disguised as popular participation.
Batres's failure marks a breaking point within the ruling party: neither her last name nor her ideological closeness to Palacio Nacional was enough to prevail. Beyond the internal power struggle, there is an even more troubling element: the essentialization of indigenous communities as part of the regime's legitimization strategy.
Hugo Aguilar Ortiz was presented by the government as a representative of indigenous communities, a supposedly "popular" and "diverse" face chosen by the people. The reality is that his candidacy was a political tokenization operation, where ethnic identity was reduced to a symbolic resource.
The Fourth Transformation has turned indigenism into a political trend, useful for propaganda but empty of real commitment. Indigenous communities—historically marginalized by the system—are now used as discursive decoration to justify decisions made by party elites. There is no real empowerment, no voice, no autonomy: there is utilitarianism and simulation.
