MEXICO CITY, Sept 11 (Askume) – Mexico’s Senate on Wednesday approved sweeping judicial reforms that would overhaul the country’s judiciary through universal suffrage, a move critics worry could threaten the rule of law and harm the economy.
In a marathon session that lasted more than 12 hours and had to be halted as protesters stormed the Senate building, the ruling Morena party and its allies secured the final two-thirds vote needed to approve the reforms, triggering protests, judicial strikes and market volatility.
Senators voted 86 to 41 in favor and the ruling bloc welcomed it. The reform will take effect after publication in Mexico’s official gazette.
The approval came after tense debate and intense political drama, as the ruling coalition fell just one seat short of the majority needed to pass the constitutional changes.
But one opposition MLA left the party and voted in favour of the bill, while another did not vote, claiming he was detained to prevent him from voting.
Morena has denied any wrongdoing.
“This is a sad day for our Mexico,” said Senator Alejandro Moreno, president of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party. The reform was approved in the Senate “with the worst tactics and under unimaginable pressure and duress”.
The reform is a major victory for outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who sees the reform as necessary to restore the integrity of Mexico’s judiciary and ensure it serves the people rather than elite and criminal interests.
Critics, however, fear this would lead to a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of Morena.
Mexico’s main trading partners, the United States and Canada, have warned that major changes could undermine the USMCA trade deal and have a negative impact on investment.
The correction has also unsettled markets, with the Mexican peso down about 17% since the June 2 election, which Morena won in a landslide.
As senators debated the reforms on Tuesday, protesters waving Mexican flags and chanting “traitors” stormed the Senate building, forcing the session to be suspended and moved to another location.
The key element of the constitutional reform approved by the House of Commons last week is to elect more than 6,500 judges and magistrates, including those of the Supreme Court, through universal suffrage.
Under the reform, the number of Supreme Court judges was reduced from 11 to nine, their terms were shortened to 12 years, the minimum age requirement of 35 was removed, and work experience requirements were lowered.
Mexico’s incoming president, Claudia Sheinbaum, takes office on October 2 and will be tasked with managing the consequences of reforms that could be effected in her first months in office.
