Controversial Mexico judicial reform reaches final vote in Senate News
Haakon S. Krohn, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Controversial Mexico judicial reform reaches final vote in Senate

Mexico’s Senate committees late on Sunday approved a controversial judicial reform, which aims to transform the system entirely. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his Morena party have been advocating the reform to remedy a corrupt court system.

The bill, which had already passed by a wide margin in the Morena-controlled lower house, was approved in a seven-hour session of the Senate’s Constitutional Points and Legislative Studies Committees. The proposed reform bill includes a measure to elect judges, ministers (Supreme Court justices), and magistrates by popular vote. It would also reduce the number of Supreme Court ministers. Additionally, the reform proposes the creation of a Judicial Discipline Tribunal to investigate judicial misconduct and ensure transparency within the judicial system. 

Opponents of the bill, including prominent judges and judicial workers, have taken their concerns to the streets. Most recently, Supreme Court ministers demonstrated their opposition by joining the protests and declaring a strike against the reform. Justice Norma Piña, president of the Supreme Court, outlined an alternative reform in a video statement on Sunday, stating: “Our history cannot be defined by the simplistic narrative that all the country’s security and justice problems are the judges’ fault. Those who believe this do not know Mexico.”

While López Obrador’s ruling Morena party praised the reform as “historic” on X (formerly Twitter), opposition and human rights organizations warn of politicization of the judiciary and a disproportionate influence of the ruling party on judicial decisions, jeopardizing the impartiality of the system. Human Rights Watch voiced concerns over the ruling party’s interest in influencing which judicial candidates would run for election. In addition, it remains uncertain how and if candidates will receive funding for their election campaigns.

After approval by the two committees, the reform bill moves to the Senate floor for a full vote. The Morena-led coalition is one vote short of the two-thirds majority in the Senate needed to pass it.

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