Ensenada’s city council voted unanimously to send a formal request to Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) asking the port city to be considered as a host for one of the court’s traveling sessions. The initiative, approved on April 30, was backed by Mayor Claudia Agatón Muñiz and promoted by council member Ana Lara Carbajal.
City officials say Ensenada would be the first municipality in the country to formally submit such a request to the SCJN. The formal petition, known as an exhortation, asks the justices to bring their proceedings to Ensenada so local residents can observe constitutional justice firsthand.
Supreme Court Already Holding Sessions Outside Mexico City
The request comes as the SCJN has already begun holding sessions outside the capital. In February 2026, the court held its first off-site session in Tenejapa, a mountain town in the southern state of Chiapas. About 2,000 people attended those deliberations, held under a tent in the town’s central square.
Ensenada’s request positions the Baja California port city as a potential future stop in this new program of itinerant sessions. If granted, the session would allow Ensenada residents to watch the country’s highest court in action without traveling to Mexico City, roughly 1,500 miles to the southeast.
Political Significance of the Request
The move carries political weight beyond its practical implications. According to La Política Online, the exhortation would set a precedent in the relationship between municipal governments and the federal judiciary. It positions Ensenada on the national stage as a promoter of bringing justice closer to communities far from the capital.
Ensenada, Baja California’s third-largest city with a population of roughly 540,000, sits about 70 miles south of the U.S. border at Tijuana. The city is home to a significant number of American and Canadian expats, many of whom live in surrounding coastal communities like El Sauzal and Punta Banda.
No timeline has been set for a response from the SCJN. The court would need to accept the invitation and schedule Ensenada into its calendar of itinerant sessions. The story was first reported by Ensenada.net.