From Being Accused of Crimes to Becoming Judges: Candidates with Controversial Histories Who Won the Judicial Election

At least six candidates facing accusations of alleged past crimes are on their way to becoming judges. This represents the most negative impact and the greatest concern raised by the recent judicial election in Mexico, which opened the door to questionable and even risky candidacies for the justice system. Currently, the list includes three women lawyers connected to the evangelical church La Luz del Mundo—whose leader, Naasón Joaquín, has been convicted in the United States for child sexual abuse—as well as three other individuals allegedly accused of involvement in crimes such as torture, fuel theft, and human trafficking. Despite winning the majority of votes compared to their competitors, the INE, the authority that organized the elections, can still annul their victories if it concludes they do not meet the criteria of suitability and good reputation required by the announcement.

The most serious case is that of Carmen Alejandra Lozano Maya, who ran as a candidate for local criminal judge in Mexico City and received over 44,300 votes in the electoral process, the highest vote count for that position. Lozano Maya was an agent of the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office for two decades and was formally reported twice for committing arbitrary arrests and torture against innocent individuals. The former official allegedly demanded a bribe in both cases to release the victims, according to reports by Animal Político. Lozano Maya was investigated in both instances, but in each case, the authorities of the State of Mexico closed the investigation and guaranteed her impunity thus far.

The file concerning Hernán Vega Burgos is equally concerning. The lawyer, who won the position of local magistrate in the Superior Court of Justice of Yucatán with 115,000 votes, was accused of protecting a network of trafficking and sexual exploitation in his state while serving as a delegate of the National Migration Institute in 2009. Two women from Costa Rica who were kidnapped in a house testified that Vega Burgos charged 30,000 pesos monthly as part of an agreement with the organization that forced them into prostitution, as reported by La Jornada that year. “If we refused, Hernán threatened to rape us and deport us,” the media also noted from the victims’ testimony.

The official resigned from his position and promoted several legal protections that allowed the investigation to remain undisclosed by the Attorney General’s Office, which chose not to pursue any action against him. Vega Burgos has defended himself against these allegations in recent days, claiming that a “file was fabricated” against him. “These accusations have already been clarified with irrefutable evidence from the relevant authorities,” he concluded. In 2019, he had already run for a local electoral magistrate in an open process by the Senate. The Morenista Ricardo Monreal stated at that time to Imagen Radio that the accusations against him would be taken into account by the Chamber. Vega Burgos did not secure that position, but this time he has passed all the requirements.

The third questioned profile is Tania Contreras, who contended for and won the position of local magistrate in the Supreme Court of Justice of Tamaulipas with 217,000 votes. She is the highest-voted candidate among all competitors, which also gives her the role of presiding over the high court. Contreras served as legal advisor to the Government of Tamaulipas until she ran for the judicial position and is accused of allegedly being the link between the state executive and a network of corruption, bribery, and fuel trafficking in the customs agency, according to a report by the organization Defensorxs, responsible for monitoring risky candidacies, based on research published in May by by El Universal.

According to this information, the criminal network was managed by the brother-in-law of the future local Supreme magistrate, Juan Carlos Madero Larios, who was in charge of the Customs Operation. The then Secretary of Defense, Luis Cresencio Sandoval, requested in 2022 that the National Intelligence Center (CNI) initiate an investigation into these crimes. Sandoval, according to this media report, complained at that time that the official continued to serve as an administrator rather than being dismissed from his position. The report prepared by the CNI indicated the familial connection between Contreras and Madero Larios as the link between the Government and the network.

La Luz del Mundo Expands Its Influence

Three women lawyers set to become federal judges have strong ties with La Luz del Mundo, an influential evangelical congregation under investigation in the United States and Mexico for sexual exploitation and money laundering. The most notable case is that of Madián Sinaí Menchaca Sierra, who, with nearly 44,000 votes, won the election for district judge in administrative matters for Jalisco, the political and cultural stronghold of the religious organization. She is the daughter of Bishop Nicolás Menchaca, who took over the congregation after the fall of Naasón Joaquín. A 30-year-old lawyer, the candidate was arrested in May 2024 in Tlaquepaque (Jalisco) on charges of causing injuries after colliding her car with a couple on a motorcycle. The woman in that incident was at the time a legislative advisor in the Jalisco Congress, and the arrest did not reach the media.

The lawyer’s father is a key figure in the network of trafficking and corruption within the evangelical church. Victims and survivors of the abuses committed by Naasón Joaquín, The Apostle of Jesus Christ, have reported that Bishop Menchaca offered them money to not report the congregation’s top leader, according to Univisión. The bishop held such significance in the organization that, according to the U.S. media, he was a shareholder in one of the real estate companies of Naasón’s deceased father, Samuel Joaquín, founder of an empire used for money laundering and as a refuge for committing sexual abuse. Menchaca has been one of the most vocal defenders of the innocence of The Apostle of Jesus Christ.

Another case is that of lawyer Eluzai Rafael Aguilar, the daughter of Samuel Rafael Quintana, a minister of La Luz del Mundo, who ran for criminal judge in Jalisco. The organization Defensorxs classifies Rafael Aguilar’s candidacy as “highly risky,” citing her as a leader within the congregation. She was educated at a school called Hermosa Provincia Educational Institutions, founded and sponsored by La Luz del Mundo. On its website, Naasón Joaquín is still presented as a “benefactor” of the institutional government of the school, despite his conviction for child abuse in the U.S. Rafael Aguilar is also a member of the Mexican Association of Professionals and Entrepreneurs (APEM), the institutional arm through which La Luz del Mundo operates politically and economically. Her father has also publicly advocated for Naasón Joaquín.

The third case is that of Salma Jaanai Martínez Macías, who has secured the role of federal criminal judge for the State of Coahuila. The lawyer has acknowledged her membership in the evangelical organization in Facebook posts. In one social media post, she stated that one of her goals was to be “a source of pride” for the church founded by The Apostle of Jesus Christ. Additionally, in chats organized by La Luz del Mundo members, members were encouraged to vote for candidates supported by the religious congregation, including Martínez Macías, who ultimately won in the judicial election.

The rise of candidates linked to La Luz del Mundo is another step that expands the evangelical group’s influence in Mexican public life. The church had already delved into politics alongside federal legislators within Morena and several local officials. Victims of Naasón Joaquín’s abuses fear that representatives of the religious organization could operate from the Judiciary to hinder the ongoing investigation by the Mexican Attorney General’s Office into the congregation for human trafficking and money laundering.