Mexico City [Mexico], September 11: Crowds of protesters stormed Mexico's Senate on September 10, forcing lawmakers to postpone debate on a controversial proposal by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Outgoing Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador 's controversial proposal would allow voters to elect judges. Under the proposal, even the Supreme Court and other high-level judges, as well as those at the local level, would be elected by popular vote. Current judges would have to run for re-election in 2025 or 2027.
If the proposed judicial reform passes, experts say Mexico would become the only country in the world to elect all its judges. However, the proposal has sparked mass protests, diplomatic tensions and investor concerns, according to AFP.
Mexican Senate President Gerardo Fernandez Norona declared an "indefinite recess" as protesters entered the building, as television footage showed crowds of protesters inside the senate chamber.
Norona then called for the debate to continue on the evening of September 10 at another location, hours after senate lawmakers began discussing the proposal.
President Lopez Obrador wants his proposal approved before his close ally Claudia Sheinbaum takes over on October 1. Mr. Lopez Obrador argues that under the current system, the courts serve the interests of the political and economic elite, calling Mexico's judiciary "corrupt," corrupt and rife with nepotism.
"What worries opponents of this reform the most is that they will lose their privileges, because the judiciary serves the powerful, serves economic crime," President Lopez Obrador said at a press conference.
Meanwhile, protesters, including court staff and law students, have held a series of demonstrations against Mr Lopez Obrador's proposed judicial reforms.
"This does not exist in any other country," Margaret Satterthwaite, the United Nations special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, said of Lopez Obrador's reform proposal.
"In some countries, such as the United States, some state judges are elected, and in others, such as Bolivia, senior judges are elected. If passed, this reform would put Mexico in a unique position in terms of its judicial selection methods," Satterthwaite told AFP.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper