Mexico: Senate adopts controversial judicial reform

The Mexican Senate approved a constitutional reform on Wednesday that makes the country the first to to appoint all its judges by popular vote, despite warnings that this would undermine the independence of justice.

“We are going to move forward in Mexico and set an example to 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 honorable 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 privilege 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 largest trading partner, and investor concern.

Dozens of demonstrators gathered Wednesday in front of the Senate 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 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.

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 protesters who managed to reach the chamber, Mexican flags in hand.

Opponents of the reform believe that it will weaken the independence of judges and make them vulnerable to pressure from organized 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 Sunday.

“What worries those who are against this reform the most 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, whose popularity is around 70%, on Tuesday.

After breaking through the security barriers, the protesters forced Senate President Gerardo Fernandez Noroña (presidential majority) to adjourn the session and relocate it to the former Senate headquarters, where protesters also gathered.

Demonstration against the reform of the judiciary wanted by the government, September 10, 2024 in Mexico City © AFP – Rodrigo Oropeza

The bill had already been adopted last week by deputies in a gymnasium, under basketball hoops, after the Lower House was blocked by demonstrators.

The reform has generated daily protests for several weeks, but also strong tensions with Washington, the country's leading trading partner.

The United States sees the reform as a “risk” for Mexican democracy and “a threat” to bilateral trade relations, while Mexico has supplanted China as its northern neighbor's leading trading partner.

Demonstration against the reform of the judiciary desired by the government, the September 10, 2024 in Mexico City © AFP – Rodrigo Oropeza

According to experts, investors' concerns about this reform have contributed to a sharp drop in the peso, which last week reached its lowest level in two years against the dollar.

The Mexican government denounced “interference” by the United States in its internal affairs and put on “pause” at the end of August its relations with the United States ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, who has publicly criticized the reform several times.

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