A protester raises a Mexican flag as judicial workers march outside the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) in Mexico City on September 3 [Luis Cortes/Reuters]Published On 3 Sep 20243 Sep 2024
Mexican demonstrators have continued to voice their opposition to controversial judicial reforms pushed by the country’s ruling party and outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, also known as AMLO.
On Tuesday, striking judiciary workers blocked access to the country’s Supreme Court and Congress, where Lopez Obrador’s Morena party is expected to move forward with reforms that include the direct election of judges.
Lopez Obrador has insisted that the reforms will help combat corruption, but opponents say it will decrease professionalism and open the judiciary to greater political influence.
“The party with the majority could take control of the judicial branch, and that would practically be the end of democracy,” demonstrator Javier Reyes, a 37-year-old federal court worker, told the Associated Press news outlet.
Many employees, including those at the Supreme Court, have gone on strike to protest the proposed reforms, which would see more than 7,000 judges and magistrates elected by popular vote. [Luis Cortes/Reuters] Advertisement Mexico’s Congress is scheduled to vote on the judicial reforms either on Tuesday or Wednesday, though that vote may be relocated to a hotel or convention centre as a result of the protests. [Henry Romero/Reuters]To pass the judicial reform, however, would require a constitutional change — and that means the legislation must pass through each chamber of Mexico’s Congress with two-thirds support. [Henry Romero/Reuters]The ruling Morena Party, led by President Lopez Obrador, does have the necessary two-thirds majority to pass the legislation in the Chamber of Deputies. [Henry Romero/Reuters]Last week, two elected officials in the Senate also shifted their allegiance to the Morena Party, putting the group one seat away from holding a super majority in that chamber as well. [Henry Romero/Reuters]The US ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, has called the proposals a risk to democracy, but Lopez Obrador said the ambassador’s comments violated Mexican sovereignty. [Luis Cortes/Reuters] Advertisement Morena and its allies won overwhelming majorities in June 2 elections, and Lopez Obrador has pledged to push forward with other constitutional changes that would eliminate many independent regulatory and oversight agencies. [Luis Cortes/Reuters]The judicial overhaul, however, is one of Lopez Obrador’s last major policy endeavours while in office: Limited to a single term, he is set to leave his post on September 30. [Henry Romero/Reuters]Tuesday’s protests clogged Mexico’s City streets, leaving pedestrians to jostle through lines of demonstrating judicial workers. [Henry Romero/Reuters]Police officers stood near the protesting judicial workers, ready to intervene as the demonstrators attempted to block members of the Morena Party from accessing government buildings. [Henry Romero/Reuters] (Reuters)US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar held a press conference in Mexico City on Tuesday, where he reiterated his calls for an independent and corruption-free judicial branch. [Quetzalli Nicte-Ha/Reuters]
