The Senate’s examination of the controversial reform of the judiciary sought by outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was suspended on Tuesday, September 10, by the president of the Upper House after a hundred protesters stormed the chamber.
Gathered for several hours near the legislative building, the protesters suddenly crossed the security barriers and broke first into the balcony and then into the chamber, forcing the president of the Senate, Gerardo Fernández Norona (presidential majority), to announce the session. “suspended”and then reported that the senators were going to sit somewhere else.
Among the protesters, striking judicial officials and law students chanted “Senators, arrest the dictator” AND “the judiciary will not fall”waving a huge Mexican flag.
Adopted last week by deputies in a gymnasium, under basketball hoops, after the blockade of the Lower House by protesters, the constitutional reform provides for the election of judges – including those of the Supreme Court – and magistrates by a “popular vote”.
This reform, which would be a world first, generates strong tensions with Washington, the country’s largest trading partner, and in the country, where daily protests have been taking place for several weeks.
The Mexican head of state, who will be replaced by President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, from the same party, on October 1, maintains that the Mexican justice system is corrupt and only serves the economic interests of the elites, while more than 90% of crimes remain unpunished in Mexico according to NGOs.
If the reform were approved without incident in the lower house, where the ruling coalition’s deputies are in the ultra-majority, the presidential party and its allies would be one vote short of approving the reform in the Senate. The opposition parties PAN, PRI and Movimiento Ciudadano said they would vote against it. “We have already said it and we repeat it: we will fight to the end to prevent this attack on the Republic and democracy”wrote Senator Alejandra Barrales of the Citizen Movement. Those who oppose the reform therefore believe that it will weaken the independence of judges and make them vulnerable to pressure from organised crime.
“Dismantling the justice system is not the way forward”warned Supreme Court President Norma Pina in a video posted on social media on Sunday.
A “risk” for Mexican democracy according to Washington
López Obrador, who has often criticized the High Court for slowing down several of his reforms, warned Norma Pina against a possible attempt to block her, which he said would constitute a “flagrant violation” of the Constitution. “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. (…) and white collar crimes »López Obrador, whose popularity is around 70%, declared on Tuesday.
The global application
The morning of the world
Every morning, find our selection of 20 articles not to be missed
Download the app
The United States, Mexico’s main trading partner, sees the reform as a ” risk “ for Mexican democracy and “a threat” for bilateral trade relations, as Mexico has supplanted China as its northern neighbor’s largest trading partner.
Experts say investor concerns about the bill have contributed to a sharp drop in the peso, which last week hit its lowest level in two years against the dollar.
This is the consequence of “external factors”López Obrador responded on Monday. “It is urgent to clean up [le système judiciaire] in the interest of all, including [de ceux] who invest in Mexico. »
The Mexican government has denounced “interference” of the United States in its internal affairs and decreed at the end of August a break in relations with the United States ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, who has publicly criticized the reform on several occasions.
Margaret Satterthwaite, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, expressed her “deep concerns”. “In the absence of solid guarantees against the infiltration of organized crime [dans le processus de sélection des juges]an electoral system can become vulnerable to such powerful forces”he told Agence France-Presse on Monday afternoon.
