Mexico’s Senate on Wednesday approved a constitutional reform that makes the country the first to appoint all of its judges by popular vote, despite warnings that it would undermine the independence of the judiciary.
“We are going to move forward in Mexico and set an example for the world, because it has been more than demonstrated that the judiciary does not deliver justice,” said President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador during his traditional daily press conference.
“The judges, with honourable exceptions (…), are at the service of a rapacious minority that has dedicated itself to the plundering of the country,” he stressed. However, “great progress will be made when the people freely elect judges, magistrates and ministers,” he added.
The head of state, who will hand over power on October 1 to Claudia Sheinbaum, from the same party, maintains that Mexican justice is corrupt and only serves the economic interests of the elites, while more than 90% of crimes remain unpunished in the country according to NGOs.
“The regime of corruption and privileges is increasingly a thing of the past,” Ms. Sheinbaum also said on X, referring to the reform, which is generating tensions with the United States, Mexico’s main trading partner, and the concern of investors.
Dozens of protesters gathered in front of the Senate on Wednesday to protest the approval of the law, without any incidents being reported.
“The judiciary is not going to fall, it is not going to fall,” chanted the protesters, mainly striking judicial officials and law students.
The reform was adopted by 86 votes in favour, or two-thirds of the 127 senators present in the upper house, dominated by the ruling Morena party and its allies, and 41 votes against from the opposition parties.
It must now be approved by the parliaments of at least 17 states, which does not seem to be an obstacle given that Morena controls more than two-thirds of them.
Several hundred protesters invaded the Senate headquarters on Tuesday to oppose this explosive reform of the judiciary, forcing the relocation of the debates.
“Senators, stop the dictator”, “the judiciary will not fall” chanted the dozens of demonstrators who managed to reach the hemicycle, Mexican flags in hand.
Opponents of the reform believe it will weaken the independence of judges and make them vulnerable to pressure from organised crime.
-“Demolition of the judicial system”-
“The demolition of the judicial system is not the way forward,” warned Supreme Court President Norma Piña in a video posted on social media on Sunday.
“What worries most those who are against this reform is that they will lose their privileges, because the judiciary is at the service of the powerful (…) and white-collar crime,” said the outgoing president on Tuesday, whose popularity is around 70%.
After breaking through security barriers, the protesters forced Senate President Gerardo Fernandez Noroña (presidential majority) to adjourn the session and relocate it to the old Senate headquarters, where protesters also gathered.
The bill had already been adopted last week by deputies in a gymnasium, under basketball hoops, after the lower house was blocked by protesters.
The reform has generated daily demonstrations for several weeks, but also strong tensions with Washington, the country’s main trading partner.
The United States sees the reform as a “risk” to Mexican democracy and “a threat” to bilateral trade relations, as Mexico has supplanted China as its northern neighbor’s top trading partner.
Investor concerns about the reform have contributed to a sharp decline in the peso, which hit its lowest level in two years against the dollar last week, experts say.
The Mexican government denounced “interference” by the United States in its internal affairs and “paused” at the end of August its relations with the United States ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, who has publicly criticized the reform on several occasions.
