Mexican Senate Approves Pres. Obrador's Judicial Reform
Mexican Senate Approves Pres. Obrador's Judicial Reform
The Facts
By a vote of 86-41, Mexico's Senate achieved the two-thirds majority needed to amend the Constitution and pass Pres. Andrés Manuel López Obrador's judicial reform bill.
The bill—which is now expected to be approved by the required majority of state legislatures—would make all federal judges, including the Supreme Court, elected officials. Currently, Supreme Court justices are recommended by the president and confirmed by the Senate.The late-night Tuesday vote was interrupted by protesters who entered the Senate building, chanting "the judiciary will not fall." In response, the Senators moved to a separate building to, eventually concluding their vote by early Wednesday morning.
The Spin
This legislation represents a long-standing and highly popular belief among the Mexican people. While critics claim it will threaten judicial independence, the truth is that wealthy special interests have been controlling the courts for many years—blocking popular economic, energy, and corruption legislation. It also restricts funding and endorsing judicial candidates, making it the opposite of the corrupt status quo.
This reform bill can't be described as democratic when the party behind it aims to use it as an authoritarian weapon. The Morena Party—the only real beneficiary of this law—also wants to centralize control over both the civilian national guard and independent agencies. It won't be very Democratic when the Morena-led government uses their newfound control over the judiciary to uphold each and every one of these tyrannical policies.
