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.Mexico's Senate achieved the two-thirds majority needed to amend the Constitution and pass Pres. Andrés Manuel López Obrador's judicial reform bill on Wednesday.
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 86-vote supermajority was reached as opposition senator Miguel Ángel Yunes Márquez flipped and sided with the Morena party-led ruling coalition on the reform. 41 opposition senators voted against the bill and another was absent.
The Spin
This legislation represents a long-standing and highly popular belief among the Mexican people. WhileCritics criticsmay claim it will threaten judicial independence, but the truth is that wealthy special interests have beencontrolled controlling the courts for many years— blocking popular economic, energy, and corruption legislation. ItThis alsocorrupt restrictsstatus fundingquo andis endorsingabout judicialto candidates,end making it the opposite of the corrupt status quonow.
This reform bill can't be described as democratic when the party behind it aims to use it as an authoritarian weapon. The ruling Morena Partyparty — the only real beneficiary of this law —also wants to centralize control over both the civilian national guard and independent agencies. Itand won'twill beuse verythis Democratic when the Morena-led government uses their newfound control over the judiciary to uphold theseits tyrannical policies.
