Ensenada’s city council voted unanimously to formally request that Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) hold one of its traveling sessions in the municipality. Mayor Claudia Agatón Muñiz backed the measure, and city officials say Ensenada is the first municipality in Mexico to make such a formal invitation.
The request centers on the SCJN’s itinerant session program, which allows the court to convene outside Mexico City. The program already made history in February 2026 when six of nine justices traveled to Tenejapa, a remote mountain town in Chiapas, for the court’s first session outside the capital.
Indigenous Communities Cited as Key Justification
Agatón Muñiz pointed to Ensenada’s cultural diversity as a primary reason for the request. The municipality is home to indigenous Kumiai, Pai Pai, and Kiliwa communities, which are native to Baja California. It also hosts significant populations of Mixteco, Triqui, Zapoteco, and Nahua migrants from southern Mexico, along with Afro-Mexican residents.
Ensenada is Baja California’s largest municipality by area, stretching from the U.S. border region near Tecate south to the boundary with Baja California Sur. That territory includes remote mountain and desert communities where access to federal institutions is limited.
What an Itinerant Session Would Mean
If the SCJN accepts the invitation, justices would travel to Ensenada to hear cases and hold public proceedings. The Chiapas session in February featured an introductory ceremony, informal greetings with residents, and face-to-face seating between justices and attendees under a white tent, replacing the court’s formal horseshoe-shaped table in Mexico City.
For Ensenada, a Supreme Court session would bring national media coverage and direct contact between the country’s highest judicial authority and local communities. The city council framed the request as part of broader efforts to strengthen institutional trust and legal culture across the municipality’s diverse population.
A Long Shot, but a First
No timeline exists for the SCJN to respond to the invitation. The court’s itinerant program is still in its early stages, and the Chiapas session remains the only precedent. Ensenada’s claim to be the first municipality to formally petition the court could give it an advantage if the SCJN looks to expand the program to northern Mexico.
The unanimous council vote occurred during a recent session, according to reporting by Jornada BC.