Why Institutional Reputation Matters - The Role of Defamation in the Capture of the Mexican Judiciary

Abstract

Mexico is about to adopt a constitutional amendment to reform the judicial branch. While framed as an attempt to restore the legitimacy and independence of the judiciary, it is, in reality, aimed at capturing the judiciary. In this blogpost, I discuss a key strategy that enabled this judicial overhaul: the President’s persistent and systematic defamatory attacks on the judiciary. I argue that to facing the threat of institutional defamation, we must recognize the importance of the right to reputation.

Keywords

• constitutional amendment
• Defamation
• Free Speech
• judicial reform
• Mexico
• right to reputation