{"id":8880,"date":"2024-09-11T11:55:05","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T15:55:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=8880"},"modified":"2024-09-11T11:55:05","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T15:55:05","slug":"mexicos-senate-approves-contentious-judicial-overhaul-after-protesters-storm-chamber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=8880","title":{"rendered":"Mexico\u2019s Senate Approves Contentious Judicial Overhaul After Protesters Storm Chamber"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Mexico\u2019s Senate voted early Wednesday to overhaul the country\u2019s judiciary<\/a><\/span>, clearing the biggest hurdle for a controversial constitutional revision that will make all judges stand for election, a change that critics fear will politicize the judicial branch and threaten Mexico\u2019s democracy.<\/p>\n

The approval came in two votes after hundreds of protesters pushed their way into the Senate on Tuesday, interrupting the session after it appeared that Morena, the governing party of outgoing President Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador<\/a><\/span>, had lined up the necessary votes to pass the proposal.<\/p>\n

The legislation sailed through the lower chamber, where Morena and its allies hold a supermajority, last week. Approval by the Senate posed the biggest obstacle and required defections from opposition parties.<\/p>\n

Protesters interrupt a Senate session in which lawmakers were debating the government\u2019s proposed judicial reform, which would make judges stand for election, in Mexico City, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo\/Felix Marquez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One came Tuesday from the conservative opposition National Action Party (PAN) after a lawmaker who had previously spoken out against the overhaul took leave for medical reasons and his father, a former governor, suggested he would vote for the proposal. The lawmaker ended up returning to his seat to give the proposal the last vote it needed.<\/p>\n

Both of the Senate votes were 86-41, with the second result coming around 4 a.m. The chamber erupted into cheers and chants of \u201cYes, we could!\u201d<\/p>\n

The legislation must now be ratified by the legislatures of at least 17 of Mexico\u2019s 32 states. The governing party is believed to have the necessary support after major gains in recent elections. Oaxaca\u2019s legislature became the first to ratify it just hours after the Senate\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n

President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, who takes office Oct. 1, congratulated lawmakers on passing the overhaul.<\/p>\n

The election of judges \u201cwill strengthen the delivery of justice in our country,\u201d Sheinbaum wrote on the social media platform X. \u201cThe regime of corruption and privileges each day is being left farther in the past and a true democracy and true rule of law are being built.\u201d<\/p>\n

A group of people watch the senators vote on a screen during a protest against the government\u2019s proposed judicial reform, which would make judges stand for election, outside the Senate in Mexico City, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo\/Felix Marquez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Tuesday evening, just hours after the governing party appeared to have wrangled the votes it needed, protesters with pipes and chains broke into the Senate chamber. At least one person fainted.<\/p>\n

The protesters said lawmakers were not listening to their demands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe judiciary isn\u2019t going to fall,\u201d yelled the protesters, waving Mexican flags and signs opposing the overhaul. They were joined by a number of opposition senators as they chanted in the chamber. Others outside roared when newscasters announced the Senate was taking a recess.<\/p>\n

Among them was Alejandro Navarrete, a 30-year-old judicial worker, who said that people like him working in the courts \u201cknowing the danger the reform represents\u201d came to call on the Senate to strike down the proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have decided to sell out the nation and sell out for political capital they were offered. We felt obligated to enter the Senate,\u201d he said, carrying a Mexican flag. \u201cOur intention is not violent, we didn\u2019t intend to hurt them, but we intend to make it clear that the Mexican people won\u2019t allow them to lead us into a dictatorship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protesters attempt to break into a room in the Senate as lawmakers weigh the government\u2019s proposed judicial reform, which would make judges stand for election, in Mexico City, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo\/Felix Marquez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But a short time later the Senate reconvened in another location and resumed debate on the proposal. An initial vote in favor came shortly after midnight.<\/p>\n

The approval came after weeks of protests by judicial employees and law students.<\/p>\n

Critics and observers say the plan, under which all judges would be elected, could threaten judicial independence and undermine the system of checks and balances.<\/p>\n

L\u00f3pez Obrador, a populist long averse to independent regulatory bodies who has ignored courts and attacked judges, says the plan would crack down on corruption by making it easier to punish judges. Critics say it would handicap the judiciary, stack courts with judges favoring the president\u2019s party, allow anyone with a law degree to become a judge and even make it easier for politicians and criminals to influence courts.<\/p>\n

It has spooked investors and prompted U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar to call it a \u201crisk\u201d to democracy and an economic threat.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A man carrying a Mexican flag watches the senators\u2019 vote on a large screen during a protest against government\u2019s proposed judicial reform, which would make judges stand for election, outside the Senate in Mexico City, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo\/Felix Marquez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

– Megan Janetsky, AP News<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mexico\u2019s Senate voted early Wednesday to overhaul the country\u2019s judiciary, clearing the biggest hurdle for a controversial constitutional revision that will make all judges stand for election, a change that critics fear will politicize the judicial branch and threaten Mexico\u2019s democracy. The approval came in two votes after hundreds of protesters pushed their way into the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":8881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/f8b6ab0\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5923x3949+0+0\/resize\/2720x1814!\/format\/webp\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Fd5%2F33%2Fb9e4efd6d3d0ee55883f8d244e64%2F008113c164444a62bd8d34b9f12e13f6","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8882,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8880\/revisions\/8882"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}