On Tuesday, September 10, protesters entered the Senate building and raised their fists in a gesture of defiance.
Early Wednesday, the Mexican Senate narrowly passed a contentious judicial reform, following a chaotic scene where protesters broke into the chamber and forced proceedings to be suspended.
The Senate vote was the ultimate major challenge for the sweeping constitutional reform, which would enable Mexicans to elect judges at all government levels by a popular vote.
Recently, opposition to the outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador-backed effort has intensified. Judicial staff, including Supreme Court personnel, are on strike, suspending most courthouse operations.
Dramatic footage from the Senate showed protesters bursting through a door to the floor after a chaotic scuffle with officials, while others waved the Mexican flag and chanted from a gallery above; some lawmakers cheered on the demonstrators.
At least one person was injured in the unrest, according to the Senate communications team, and an opposition senator said protesters threw gasoline in his eyes.
López Obrador, a popular leftist, has long been critical of his country’s Supreme Court after it stood in the way of some of his signature policy proposals. He has said the overhaul is necessary to rid Mexico’s judiciary of corruption and ensure it is responsive to popular will.
Demonstrators try to break down a door inside the Senate building as a highly contested judicial reform proposal is debated on September 10.
Demonstrators try to break down a door inside the Senate building as a highly contested judicial reform proposal is debated on September 10. Raquel Cunha/Reuters
He welcomed the result of the vote at a press briefing on Wednesday in which he acknowledged the controversy surrounding the reform. “Well, it is a decision that the legislators made and I would say freely. This does not satisfy many. Others, yes, are pleased that this reform has been approved. I am among the latter,” he said.
His successor, President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, who takes office in October, echoed those sentiments.
“With the election of judges, magistrates, and ministers, the administration of justice in our country will be strengthened. The regime of corruption and privileges is becoming more and more a thing of the past and a true democracy and a true rule of law are being built,” she wrote on X.
Critics of the reform call it a power grab that will compromise one of the last remaining checks on presidential power. Legal experts say the proposed procedure would turn Mexico into an international outlier.
The Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center slammed the Senate’s approval on Wednesday, saying the reform “annuls the division of powers” and generates “democratic erosion.”
Demonstrators wave Mexican flags after entering the Senate building in Mexico City on September 10.
Demonstrators wave Mexican flags after entering the Senate building in Mexico City on September 10. Luis Cortes/Reuters
The reform sailed through the lower chamber of Congress last week, but López Obrador’s ruling coalition needed a supermajority to approve it in the upper house.
In recent days, opposition lawmakers have reported being bribed and pressured with blackmail to change their vote, according to Senator Guadalupe Murguía, the coordinator of senators for the National Action Party (PAN).
After reconvening in a second location that was fortified by dozens of police officers in riot gear, the reform passed, with 86 votes in favor, 41 against and zero abstentions.
A majority of Mexico’s 32 state legislatures must now approve the overhaul, which is expected to happen.
On Wednesday, Oaxaca and Tamaulipas became the first and second states to ratify it, just hours after the Senate’s approval.
The first judicial elections could take place as soon as next year.
The reform faced a rare and stinging critique from US Ambassador Ken Salazar in Mexico City, in which he called the election of judges “a major risk to the functioning of Mexico’s democracy.”
His comments have led to a spat between the countries. Warnings from business groups that the reform could undermine the Mexican investment environment have sent the value of the peso tumbling.
Judicial workers protest the government’s proposed reform, which would make judges stand for election, on Tuesday.
Supreme Court judges in Mexico are usually nominated by the president and must be approved in the Senate. Federal judges are selected by a judicial commission that uses professional exams and coursework to evaluate candidates on a meritocratic basis.
If adopted, about 7,000 judges would be required to battle for their seats, or turn the gavel over to the most popular candidate.
