(Mexico City) Mexico’s Senate on Wednesday approved a controversial constitutional reform that makes the country the first to appoint all of its judges – including those of the Supreme Court – by popular vote, despite warnings of an attack on judicial independence and protests.
“We are going to set an example to the whole world, because it has been more than demonstrated that the judiciary does not deliver justice,” President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday 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 and magistrates,” he added.
The head of state, who will hand over power on the 1ster October to Claudia Sheinbaum, from the same party, argues 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,” Claudia Sheinbaum also rejoiced on the social network X, referring to the reform, which generates tensions with the United States, Mexico’s main trading partner, and the concern of investors.
Dozens of protesters were still gathered Wednesday outside the Senate to protest the approval of the law, without any incidents being reported. About a hundred protesters had invaded the Senate on Tuesday during the examination of the explosive reform, forcing the relocation of the debates, but without allowing its rejection.
“The judiciary will not fall,” chanted the protesters, mainly striking judicial officials and law students. “I will not give up.” [mon poste]until the end, no matter the consequences,” said Mario Dominguez, district judge of the state of Jalisco.
PHOTO RODRIGO OROPEZA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Protesters block streets near the former seat of Mexico’s Senate.
The constitutional reform was adopted on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday by 86 votes in favour, or two thirds of the 127 senators present in the Upper House, dominated by the ruling party Morena and its allies, and 41 votes against from opposition parties.
It must now be approved by the parliaments of at least 17 states, which should not be an obstacle for the ruling party which controls 24. Once adopted, it will then be promulgated by the Mexican presidency.
Legislative proceedings began in several states on Wednesday. The elections, which are expected to elect 1,600 judges, will be held in June 2025 and again in 2027.
“Demolition of the judiciary”
The bill had already been adopted last week by deputies in a gymnasium, under basketball hoops, after the lower house was blocked by protesters.
Opponents of the reform believe it will weaken the independence of judges and make them vulnerable to pressure from organised crime.
“The demolition of the judicial system is not the way forward,” Supreme Court President Norma Piña warned. Lopez Obrador warned her against a possible blockage that would be a “flagrant violation” of the Constitution.
The reform is generating strong tensions with Washington, the country’s main trading partner.
The United States sees 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.
This puts Mexico “in a unique position,” Margaret Satterthwaite, the United Nations special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, told AFP.
“In the absence of solid guarantees against the infiltration of organized crime [dans le processus de sélection des juges]an electoral system can become vulnerable to such powerful forces,” she warned, calling for a reconsideration of the reform.
The case that comes closest to Mexico is Bolivia, where the judges of the High Court are elected by popular vote. However, a council of the judiciary appoints the ordinary judges.
In this South American country, the independence of elected judges has been called into question by the conflict between President Luis Arce and his mentor, former socialist president Evo Morales (2006-2019), with judges accused of being politicized by their election.