Protesters storm Mexican Senate over controversial judicial reform

Mexico City, September 11 (dpa/GNA) – Protesters stormed the Mexican Senate on Tuesday to protest against controversial, sweeping judicial reform plans proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The reforms proposed by left-wing populist López Obrador include the direct election of judges, including those of the Supreme Court.

“The judiciary will not fall,” the protesters chanted as they voiced their opposition.

About 1,700 federal judges in Mexico have been on strike for nearly three weeks in protest of the proposed reform. Thousands of court workers have joined the strike.

The House of Representatives has already approved the reform.

Critics of the reform fear that powerful drug cartels, which control large parts of the country and influence voting, could gain more influence over the judiciary if judges are elected by the people.

There are also concerns that the professional qualifications of judges may play a lesser role and that politics could have a greater influence on the judiciary.

López Obrador, whose term as president ends this month after six years in office, will be succeeded by Claudia Sheinbaum, a loyal ally who won the presidential election in June. Sheinbaum is expected to continue her mentor’s policies.

GNA