MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is facing mounting pressure over his controversial proposal to overhaul Mexico’s judicial system that would involve electing judges.
Judges and magistrates on Wednesday joined a strike started earlier this week by federal court workers to oppose the proposal. Morgan Stanley also warned that the reform could jeopardize the stability of the market for potential investors in Mexico.
In response to mounting criticism, President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum defended the proposal on Wednesday alongside her political ally López Obrador.
“Investors don’t have to worry. On the contrary, we’re getting a better legal system in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.
López Obrador, a populist leader nearing the end of his six-year term, has long been at odds with Mexico’s courts.
He claims that judges are part of a “mafia” against him, and says the bill is aimed at cleaning up corruption. He has continued to rail against the justice system, defy court orders and clash publicly with judges whose rulings he disagrees with.
One of the changes López Obrador is seeking is to make judges elected, and to allow virtually anyone with a law degree and a few years of experience as a lawyer to become a judge through popular election.
Given the landslide victory of López Obrador’s Morena party in the June elections, many academics have expressed concern that selecting judges through popular vote would put politically biased judges on the bench and undermine the system of checks and balances.
The striking court employees also fear that the measure will jeopardize their careers.
Since Monday, thousands of workers have been camping outside federal courthouses, and protests grew on Wednesday, with judges and magistrates joining in. Protesters gathered under tents, chanting and holding signs as Mexicans with court appointments were turned away.
“It could harm society,” said Fernando Rangel Ramírez, a federal judge on strike. He said the judiciary “is an institution that historically, and by its nature, should not be politicized. It should have people with sufficient experience.”
The National Association of Circuit Magistrates and District Judges said the strike will last indefinitely until the president’s proposal, with its “many imperfections,” is blocked. The group said it hopes to “reorient the public debate toward a well-considered, comprehensive reform to address the structural causes that have steadily weakened the quality of justice in Mexico.”
The only federal courts not affected by the strike are the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation and the Electoral Tribunal, the group said. The only cases being heard are those deemed “urgent.”
Morgan Stanley this week downgraded its recommendation for investments in Mexico over the proposal.
“We believe that replacing the justice system will increase the risk for investments in Mexico,” said the report, released Tuesday night.
While Sheinbaum has shown herself to be more open to dialogue and has hosted forums for debate on the topic, she has expressed doubts about concerns about the plan and said Morgan Stanley and others may be “misinformed.”
“Their investments will be better protected,” she said.
——
Associated Press journalist Martín Silva Rey contributed to this report.
