He Congress of Mexico declared this Friday constitutional the reform to Judiciary proposed by the Government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obradorwhich promotes the election of judges by popular vote, and only its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) for its entry into force.
The declaration of constitutionality was announced first in the Mexican Senate and then in the Chamber of Deputies, in both cases within a few minutes, with the approval of the pro-government “supermajorities” in both chambers and the backing of 23 local legislatures in 32 states.
“In order to comply with Article 135 of the Constitution (…) and once the 23 approving votes of the state legislatures have been counted, the Senate declares approved the decree by which various provisions of the Mexican Constitution are reformed, added to and repealed in matters of the Judicial Branch”he declared before the President of the Senate Board of Directors, Gerardo Fernández Noroña.
The President of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Deputies, Sergio Gutierrez Luna.
The opposition did not attend either event, after rejecting the reform, which they described as a step backwards for democracy and judicial independence, as well as for the balance of powers and the possible interference of “interest groups.”
This was announced by the parliamentary coordinators in both Houses of Congress of the opposition National Action Party (PAN), Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and Citizen Movement (MC) who expressed that the constitutionality action “is a party” exclusive to the ruling party, as well as the “complete robbery of the nation.”
The action comes in parallel with attempts by employees of the Federal Judicial Branch (PJF) and at least 1,200 judges in the country to stop this reform by resorting to national and international bodies.
Multilateral organizations such as the United Nations and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR); businesses such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC); rating agencies such as Fitch y Moody’sas well as the US government, have warned of repercussions for Mexico due to this reform, including panels and arbitrations within the framework of trade agreements such as the USMCA.
This Friday, a Mexican judge from the state of Colima ordered a suspension to stop the promulgation of the aforementioned reform in the DOF, despite the fact that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the main promoter of the reform, announced that it would be made official next Sunday, September 15, when Independence Day is commemorated in the country.
Later, the senator Ernestina Godoyfuture legal advisor in the Government of Claudia Sheinbaumpointed out that such protection is inappropriate to prevent the reform from being published in the DOF.
“They forget that constitutional reforms cannot be challenged,” said Godoy.
So far, the judicial reform has more than the 17 votes from local legislatures required by the Mexican Constitution to be declared constitutional and sent to the head of the Executive, López Obrador, for its officialization and entry into force.
The legislatures that have already given their approval are those of the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Colima, Durango, Guerrero, Hidalgo, State of Mexico, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán, Zacatecas and the capital Mexico City.
Meanwhile, it has been rejected in the local congresses of Jalisco and Querétaro.
Once the declaration of constitutionality has been made by the Chamber of Deputies, President López Obrador will be given the opportunity to officially publish it and subsequently enter into force. EFE (I)
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