By Mexico’s lower house of Congress has passed a controversial bill that would require all of the country’s judges to stand for election, marking the most sweeping judicial overhaul in a century. The measure, which has sparked widespread protests and criticism, now heads to the Senate for consideration.
In a marathon session that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning, legislators were forced to meet in a gymnasium after protesters blocked access to the Congress building. The lower chamber approved the constitutional measure with a 359-135 vote in the first round, followed by a second-round vote later that morning. Both votes followed party lines, with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party and its allies pushing the bill through.
The proposed reform would affect some 7,000 judges across Mexico’s judicial system. López Obrador and his ruling party argue that the current court system is corrupt and that elections would make judges more accountable to the people.
Critics, however, warn that the changes could severely undermine the independence of the judiciary. Human rights groups and legal experts have raised concerns about how such large-scale elections could be carried out without risking infiltration by drug cartels and criminal organizations.
The bill now faces a crucial test in the Senate, where Morena is one vote short of the required two-thirds majority. Observers expect a tight vote, with the possibility of the ruling party persuading an opposition senator to support the measure. If passed by the Senate, the constitutional proposal would then need approval from a majority of Mexico’s 32 state legislatures. Morena controls most state congresses, increasing the likelihood of the bill’s ultimate passage.
The proposed changes have fueled widespread protests across Mexico in recent weeks. On Tuesday, demonstrators blocked entrances to the lower house of Congress in an attempt to halt the debate. The country’s Supreme Court also voted 8-3 to join strikes, adding weight to the opposition movement.
Javier Reyes, a 37-year-old federal court worker participating in the protests, expressed concern about the potential consequences of the reform. “The party with the majority could take control of the judicial branch, and that would practically be the end of democracy,” he said. “They want to own Mexico.”
The bill would dramatically alter the current system, in which judges and court secretaries qualify for higher positions based on their records. Under the proposed changes, any lawyer meeting minimal qualifications could run for a judgeship, with some candidacies potentially decided by drawing names from a hat.
Other controversial aspects of the reform include the introduction of time limits for judges to rule on many cases, the creation of “hooded judges” with secret identities to preside over organized crime cases, and stripping courts of much of their power to block government projects or laws based on citizen appeals.
U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar has voiced concerns about the proposed changes, particularly the election of judges, warning that it could negatively impact investment and the Mexican economy. In response, López Obrador announced last week that he had put relations with the U.S. and Canadian embassies “on pause” after they expressed their concerns.
President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, a close ally of López Obrador, defended the reform on social media, stating that it “does not affect our commercial relations, nor national or foreign private investments. On the contrary, there will be more and better rule of law and more democracy for all.”
As the bill moves to the Senate, opposition parties have vowed to vote against it. Alejandro Moreno, head of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, confirmed that his party members would oppose the proposal in the upper chamber, as they did in the lower house.
The contentious nature of the reform and its potential far-reaching consequences ensure that it will remain a focal point of political debate and public discourse in Mexico in the coming weeks. As the legislative process continues, all eyes will be on the Senate and state legislatures to see if this sweeping judicial overhaul becomes a reality.
Credit: apnews.com
