Mexico advances divisive bill to overhaul courts

Members of Mexico’s lower house of Congress on Wednesday voted 359 to 135 to pass sweeping legislation changing how judges in the country take office. Outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador proposed the plan, which would make nearly all of Mexico’s more than 7,000 judges and magistrates elected by popular vote instead of appointment. The proposal would also reduce the required work experience to qualify for ministerial positions. It would reduce the number of Supreme Court judges from 11 to nine, and shorten their terms by three years, down to 12 years from 15. Supreme Court judges would be elected, rather than appointed by the president as is the current practice. Members of the lower house are expected to iron out some details of the bill before passing it to the Senate.

Who supports the reform? President Lopez Obrador’s Morena party has backed the plan. The party holds a majority in the lower house and is just short of a two-thirds majority in the Senate. It is also the party of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum. Sheinbaum, who will take office in October, has said the reform is intended to improve democracy and reduce corruption.

Who in Mexico is against the changes? Thousands of Mexican justice workers went on an indefinite strike last week to protest the overhaul. Eight of the 11 Supreme Court justices on Tuesday voted to stop work in protest of the reform proposal. Opponents have said that the changes could fill the courts with politically biased judges who do not have enough experience. Protesters on Tuesday blocked access to the Chamber of Deputies, forcing members of the chamber to relocate to a sports facility for the vote.

Haven’t other countries also weighed in? International leaders have also criticized the overhaul. U.S. ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar last month called the reforms “a major risk to the functioning of Mexico’s democracy,” adding that the direct election of judges could threaten trade relationships. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week urged Lopez Obrador and Sheinbaum to pursue reforms that protect judicial autonomy.

Late last week, Lopez Obrador paused diplomatic relations with the U.S. and Canadian embassies following their criticisms of the reform plan. 

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about Mexico electing its first female president.