Mexico Senate approves controversial judicial reform News
Haakon S. Krohn, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mexico Senate approves controversial judicial reform

Mexico’s Senate approved controversial judicial reforms on Wednesday despite protesters storming the chamber earlier in the session.

The reform, pushed by President Andres Manuel López Obrador, obtained the two-thirds majority vote it needed to succeed in the Senate. It was approved with 86 votes in favor and 41 against after members the opposition bloc, led by Senator Miguel Ángel Yunes, decided to cast their vote in favor of the reform.

This legislation seeks to reform the Mexican constitution to allow the popular election of judges, magistrates, and ministers. The approved proposal will also form a Judicial Discipline Tribunal to investigate members of the judicial system, imposing new possible sanctions against judges for corruption, nepotism, and acts contrary to the law and public interests.

On Tuesday, protesters stormed the country’s Senate, causing a temporary suspension of its session. The reform’s critics argue it poses a risk to the independence of the judiciary. Moreover, the reform has been criticized by human rights organizations for the excessive political influence popular votes will impose on the judicial processes in Mexico. Contrary to this, the government has argued an effective judicial reform will give the control of the judiciary back to the Mexican people.

Despite the criticism, the bill passed the lower chamber, which is largely controlled by Morena, the Mexican president’s political party. Approved by both houses of Congress, the reform now needs the endorsement of at least 17 state legislatures to be constitutionally accepted. As official announcements confirm, 20 states have already endorsed the proposal, with the latest being the states of Mexico and Guerrero.

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