After demonstrators stormed the upper house and halted discussion on the matter, Mexico became the first nation in history to permit people to choose judges at all levels of government, reports RTE.
The existing judicial system has been condemned by outgoing president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for supporting the interests of the political and economic elite, and he had vigorously advocated for reform.
In an upper house controlled by the ruling Morena party and its allies, the change was adopted with 86 votes in favour and 41 against, obtaining the two-thirds majority needed to modify the constitution, reports RTE.
The reform debate had set up large-scale protests, strained relations between nations, and unease among investors.
Declaring a break, Senate Majority Leader Gerardo Fernandez Norona responded to protesters who invaded the upper house and chanted, “The judiciary will not fall.”
After being compelled to relocate, lawmakers continued their discussion at a previous senate building while protesters outside yelled, “Mr Senator, stop the dictator!” reports RTE.
Mr. Lopez Obrador said that protestors were defending the interests of the political class and sought approval of the law before his close supporter Claudia Sheinbaum took over on October 1.
“What most worries those who are against this reform 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, reports RTE.
The idea, which calls for the people vote to choose judges at all levels, including the supreme court and others, has been met with opposition from a variety of sources, including law students and court staff.
It would be necessary for some 1,600 judges to run for office in 2025 or 2027, reports RTE.
UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and solicitors Margaret Satterthwaite stated, “This does not exist in any other country.”
“In some countries, such as the US, some state judges are elected, and in others, such as in Bolivia, high-level judges are elected,” she told AFP.
Prior to the voting, Ms. Satterthwaite stated that Mexico’s reform places the country “in a unique position in terms of its method for judicial selection,” reports RTE.
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