Protesters against justice reform invade Senate

The protesters are contesting the reform, which would make Mexico the first country in the world to elect all of its judges by “popular vote.”

Heated debates in Mexico. Several hundred demonstrators invaded the Mexican Senate headquarters on Tuesday, September 10, to oppose the reform of the judiciary wanted by the outgoing left-wing president Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. “Senators, stop the dictator” or even “The judiciary will not fall” : these were the slogans chanted by the dozens of demonstrators who managed to reach the hemicycle, Mexican flags in hand.

After breaking through the security barriers, they forced Senate President Gerardo Fernandez Noroña, from the presidential majority, to adjourn the session. A little later, the upper house finally announced on Wednesday, September 11, that it had approved the constitutional reform.

The protesters – striking judicial officials and law students – are opposing the reform, which would make Mexico the first country in the world to appoint all of its judges by a “popular vote”including those of the Supreme Court.

The reform has generated strong tensions with Washington, the country’s largest trading partner, and within Mexico, where protests have been a daily occurrence for several weeks. The reform had already been adopted last week by lawmakers in a gymnasium, under basketball hoops, after protesters blocked the Lower House.

The Mexican head of state, who will hand over power on October 1 to Claudia Sheinbaum, from the same party, maintains that the Mexican justice system is corrupt and only serves the economic interests of the elite, while more than 90% of crimes remain unpunished in Mexico, according to NGOs. His opponents believe that it will weaken the independence of judges and make them vulnerable to pressure from organized crime.