Mexico’s Supreme Court nixes border governor’s extended term

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s Supreme Court struck down one of the odder political manoeuvrs in the country’s recent history Monday, after a border governor elected for a two-year term later passed law extending his mandate to five years.

Gov. Jaime Bonilla of the border state of Baja California will have to leave office in 2021, following the unanimous court ruling Monday. Elected in 2019, he had planned to hang on until 2024.

Before going to the polls last year, voters in Baja California — home to the border city of Tijuana — were told they were electing a governor for a shortened term, part of an effort to synchronize Mexico’s three-year federal elections with six-year governorships.

But after he was elected, Bonilla pushed for a term extension. The state Congress approved it in an unusual night-time session behind closed doors at a city council building.

The court ruled Monday that the extension violated the federal Constitution on several points. It held its session by video link, due to social distancing measures aimed at stemming the spread of coronavirus.

Governors in Mexico usually serve six years, but terms have been temporarily shortened in some states to try to make local votes coincide with federal elections held every three years.

While Bonilla was elected on the ticket of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party, the administration appeared to be embarrassed by Bonilla’s antics. Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero — a former Supreme Court justice — openly welcomed Monday’s ruling, saying she had always thought the manoeuvr was unconstitutional.