The reform, adopted on Wednesday, September 11, makes Mexico the first country in the world to appoint all its judges by popular vote. Its opponents fear that these elections could be vulnerable to pressure from organized crime.
At all costs, the reform has passed. The Mexican Senate announced on Wednesday, September 11, that it had approved the constitutional reform that makes the country the first in the world to appoint all of its judges by popular vote. And this despite the invasion of Parliament the day before by several hundred demonstrators opposed to the project wanted by the outgoing left-wing president, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as “Amlo” – the Mexican Constitution only authorizes a six-year term, he will officially leave power on October 1.
“Senators, stop the dictator”, “The judiciary will not fall” These were the slogans chanted by the dozens of demonstrators who managed to reach the chamber, Mexican flags in hand. After breaking through the security barriers, they forced the President of the Senate, Gerardo Fernandez Noroña (presidential majority), to adjourn the session. Shortly after, he announced the relocation of the session to the old Senate headquarters, where the debates resumed in the evening. “There will be a reform of the judiciary,” he added. It is now done. The text was approved by 86 votes in favor, 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.
The Mexican head of state defends his reform by arguing that the national justice system is corrupt and only serves the economic interests of the elites. According to NGOs, 90% of crimes remain unpunished in the country. But for their part, opponents are worried. And believe that it will weaken the independence of judges and make them vulnerable to pressure from organized crime. For weeks, demonstrations have become daily.
The text had already been adopted last week by the deputies in a gymnasium, under basketball hoops, after the blockade of the Lower House by demonstrators. The opposition parties, the PAN, the PRI and the Citizen Movement had said they would vote against it. “We have said it before and we will say it again: we will fight to the end to prevent this outrage to the Republic and to democracy.”wrote Citizen Movement Senator Alejandra Barrales. “Demolishing the justice system is not the way forward”warned Supreme Court President Norma Piña in a video posted on social media on Sunday.
“The judiciary is at the service of the powerful”
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has often criticized the high court for holding back several of his reforms, had warned Norma Piña against a possible attempt to block it, which he said would constitute a «violation flagrante» of the Constitution. “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”declared the outgoing president on Tuesday, whose popularity is around 70%.
The United States, the Latin American country’s main trading partner, sees the reform as a «risque» for Mexican democracy and “a threat” for bilateral trade relations, as Mexico has overtaken China as its northern neighbor’s largest trading partner. Experts say investor concerns over the bill have contributed to a sharp decline in the peso, which hit a two-year low against the dollar last week. The Mexican government had denounced a “interference” of the United States in its internal affairs and had put in place «pause» At the end of August, he broke off relations with the US ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, who had publicly criticised the reform on several occasions.
Margaret Satterthwaite, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, had expressed her concerns “deep concerns”. “In the absence of strong safeguards against the infiltration of organized crime (in the process of selecting judges), an electoral system can become vulnerable to such powerful forces”she said Monday.
