Silvia Rocío Delgado García, a member of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s legal team, is on the verge of securing a position as a criminal judge in Chihuahua. With 87% of the votes counted, Delgado is currently in second place among women candidates, having received 19,478 votes in total.
The electoral authority is expected to allocate positions based on gender parity, which means that the top five women vote recipients in the Ciudad Juárez district are likely to be appointed as judges.
Miguel Alfonso Meza, an activist from the organization Defensorxs, stated that Delgado, despite her second-place standing, has a strong chance of becoming a local criminal judge in Chihuahua. He noted that there are 49 criminal judge positions available in the relevant judicial district, including seven specialized in drug-related offenses, which could align with her past legal experience.
During her tenure representing El Chapo, Delgado made headlines by filing for an injunction in December 2016, arguing that the low temperatures in the Federal Center for Social Rehabilitation Number 9 in Ciudad Juárez negatively impacted her client’s well-being. Furthermore, in January 2017, she reported that a prison guard was allegedly harassing Guzmán during inspections, although another member of the legal team claimed that Guzmán had not formally reported any harassment.
There remain potential legal challenges that could affect her appointment, but her strong showing in the elections highlights a significant shift in the judicial landscape in Chihuahua, opening doors for women in positions of power within the legal system. This suggests a hopeful trend towards representation and diversity in the judiciary, which could impact the way cases, particularly those involving drug-related crimes, are handled in the future.