AMLO’s judicial reform clears first hurdle in Mexican Congress – BNN Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — A key congressional committee on Monday approved President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador’s plan to overhaul Mexico’s judicial system, clearing the way for Congress to consider the controversial proposal that opponents say endangers democracy.

The lower house’s constitution committee voted to advance the general text of the plan, which would require all federal judges in Mexico, including members of the Supreme Court, to be elected by popular vote. The committee could still make changes to the bill in later votes, though the centerpiece reform — judicial elections — will almost certainly remain part of the legislation.

The general text of the proposal was approved by 22 votes in favour and 17 against.

The plan is a priority for the president known as AMLO, who has characterized it as a way to stamp 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 the independence of the judiciary and undermine checks on power by the ruling Morena party.

The proposal requires approval by a two-thirds majority in both the lower house and the Senate. AMLO’s Morena party and its coalition partners won a supermajority in the lower house in the June elections, while they were just two seats shy of a two-thirds majority in the Senate.

Debate on the bill in the House could begin as early as next week, when the new Congress takes office.

Opponents of the reform push have stepped up their efforts to stop it before the legislative process even begins. Legal workers launched nationwide strikes last week against the proposal, while U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar warned it would pose a “grave risk” to democracy and make it easier for drug cartels to infiltrate the judiciary.

Global companies in Mexico, including Nestle SA, AT&T Inc. and MetLife Inc., said the bill being debated in Congress could discourage investment. The group urged the government to amend the bill to ensure the independence of the judiciary and to ensure it complies with international trade rules.

AMLO, however, called criticism of his proposal “ridiculous” during his daily press conference on Monday, saying that “the majority agrees that judges should be appointed by the people.”

“This means a return to the worst times of authoritarianism. This is not a judicial reform, but a return to a concentration of power,” opposition lawmaker Margarita Zavala said during the debate. “Wow, they are really nostalgic for this anti-democratic Mexico that we may be about to return to, but we will fight.”

(Updates with vote count in the third paragraph and comments from opposition members in the last paragraph.)

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