(Bloomberg) — Mexico’s lower house has approved the text of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s proposal to overhaul the country’s judicial system. The goal is to elect all federal judges by popular vote, a move opponents say threatens democracy.
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The ruling Morena party and its allies used their large two-thirds majority in the lower house to approve the proposal by 357 votes to 130, after making minor changes, according to a statement from lawmakers in the lower house on X on Wednesday.
Senate lawmakers could propose more changes, but the main goal of electing judges by popular vote remains part of the proposal.
The peso fell as much as 0.65% against the US dollar to 19.92, but losses were then limited as traders assessed the impact of the vote.
Lawmaker Ignacio Mier said the Senate could vote as early as next Wednesday, according to the daily Milenio. In the Senate, the governing coalition needs just one more vote to reach the supermajority needed to pass the bill.
The plan is to have about half of Mexico’s federal judges elected by popular vote in 2025, including Supreme Court justices. The rest will be chosen in 2027, when the Electoral Court judges are elected.
“The aim of this reform is to eliminate once and for all the checks and balances that have limited the concentration of power,” said opposition party Claudia Ruiz Massieu Salinas of the Movimiento Ciudadano party.
Earlier, Supreme Court judges decided to join strikes against the reform, a decision that was approved by eight votes to three, the high court confirmed in a statement. Urgent cases will be heard and the judges will review the decision on September 9.
In addition to the vote on justices, Lopez Obrador’s plan would reduce the number of Supreme Court justices from 11 to nine and shorten their terms from 15 to 12. He also wants to eliminate the requirement that judges be at least 35 years old and halve the number of years of experience required to work in the judiciary, from 10 to five.
The plan is a priority for the president known as AMLO, who has characterized it as a way to root out judicial corruption and wants to secure its approval before he leaves office in late September. But it has drawn a backlash from judges, the Mexican opposition, investors and the U.S., all of whom say it will undermine judicial independence and give the ruling party control over the judiciary.
President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum said the judicial reform will not affect Mexico’s trade relations, nor domestic or foreign private investment. “On the contrary, there will be more and better rule of law and more democracy for everyone,” she said in a message on X before the vote.
The session had to be held in a sports center in Mexico City because protesters blocked access to the legislature to protest the reform. When asked by a reporter about the change in setting during his morning press conference, AMLO defended the lawmakers’ actions and criticized judges for joining the strike.
“In reality, they are not deciding justice in a way that benefits the people. They are defending special interests. There is no reason to worry and I congratulate the legislators who are trying to eliminate corruption from the judiciary,” AMLO said on Wednesday.
If the bill passes the Senate, it will also have to be discussed in the local congresses.
–With help from Vinícius Andrade.
(Updates with voting on specific aspects of the bill in the second paragraph, market reactions in the fourth and AMLO statement in the twelfth.)
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