Mexico becomes first country to approve popular election of judges – World

MEXICO CITY: Mexico on Wednesday became the first country in the world to allow voters to elect judges at all levels, after protesters stormed the upper house of parliament and suspended debate on the issue.

Outgoing President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador had championed the reform and criticized the current legal system for serving the interests of the political and economic elite.

The reform was approved by 86 votes to 41, the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution, in an upper chamber dominated by the ruling Morena party and its allies. Debate over the reform had sparked mass demonstrations, diplomatic tensions and investor nervousness.

Senate Majority Leader Gerardo Fernandez Norona called a recess after protesters stormed the upper house and entered the chamber, chanting “The judiciary will not fall.” Lawmakers were forced to move to a former Senate building, where they resumed debating as protesters outside chanted “Mr. Senator, stop the dictator!” Obrador, who wanted the bill passed before he is replaced by close ally Claudia Sheinbaum on Oct. 1, said the protesters were protecting the interests of the political elite.

“What worries those who oppose this reform the most is that they will lose their privileges, because the judiciary is at the service of the powerful, at the service of white-collar crime,” the leftist leader said at a news conference.

‘Demolition of the judiciary’

Opponents, including court staff and law students, have held a series of protests against the plan, which would see even Supreme Court and other senior judges, as well as local-level judges, elected by popular vote.

About 1,600 judges are expected to stand for election in 2025 or 2027. “This does not exist in any other country,” said Margaret Satterthwaite, the United Nations special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.

“In some countries, like the United States, some state judges are elected, and in others, like Bolivia, high-ranking judges are elected,” she said. Mexico’s reform puts it “in a unique position in terms of the method of judicial selection,” Satterthwaite said ahead of the vote.

In an unusual public warning, Supreme Court Chief Justice Norma Pina said elected judges could be more vulnerable to pressure from criminals in a country where powerful drug cartels routinely use bribery and intimidation to influence officials. “The dismantling of the judiciary is not the way forward,” she said in a video released Sunday.

Pina said last week that the Supreme Court would discuss whether it has jurisdiction to halt the reforms, though Lopez Obrador has said there is no legal basis to do so. The reforms were passed in the lower house last week by ruling party lawmakers and their allies, who were forced to gather in a sports center after protesters blocked access to Congress.

Published in Dawn, September 12, 2024