Mexico's lower chamber passes controversial judicial reforms

Mexico's lower chamber approved a controversial judicial reform plan early Wednesday after a marathon session held in a sports center as protesters blocked access to Congress.

The most contentious of the changes proposed by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would have judges selected by popular vote, prompting outcry from Mexico's opposition while alarming the United States and international investors.

A landslide win in June elections gave Lopez Obrador's Morena party and its allies the two-thirds majority in the lower house needed to approve constitutional reforms.

The measure was approved by a sufficient supermajority Wednesday morning, after about 18 hours of debate.

It now moves to the Senate, where the ruling coalition is just one seat short of a two-thirds majority.

"I congratulate the legislators who are seeking to clean up corruption in the judiciary," Lopez Obrador, who enjoys an approval rating of around 70 percent, said at a press conference.

Ahead of the debate on Tuesday, hundreds of judicial employees blocked streets leading to the Chamber of Deputies with cars, and placed tape across roads to prevent pedestrians from passing.

The protests forced lawmakers to meet in a sports complex in the east of Mexico City instead.

Lopez Obrador, whose six-year term began in 2018, argues that the judiciary serves the interests of the political and economic elite.

Under his proposal, Supreme Court and other judges and magistrates would be chosen by voters.

Candidates would be proposed by the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.

The popular leader has often criticized the Supreme Court, which impeded some of his proposed reforms in areas such as energy and security.

About a thousand employees of the top court on Tuesday joined a judicial sector strike against the plan, while its justices also decided to suspend two sessions this week in solidarity.

- 'Politicization of justice system' -

The reform plan is supported by president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, a Morena party member who takes office on October 1.

It has sparked diplomatic tensions with the United States and upset financial markets, causing a sharp fall in the peso.

"The politicization of the justice system could raise concerns about whether disputes between businesses and the government would be resolved in an impartial manner," the British consultancy firm Capital Economics said.

US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar has warned that the changes would "threaten" a trade relationship between the neighboring countries that "relies on investors' confidence in Mexico's legal framework".

The reforms could pose "a major risk" to Mexican democracy and enable criminals to exploit "politically motivated and inexperienced judges," Salazar said last month.

He reiterated the opposition on Tuesday, telling journalists there was "a lot of concern" about the proposals.

While judicial reform in itself was no bad thing, "if it is not done well, it can cause a lot of damage to the relationship" between Mexico and the United States, Salazar said.

Canada, also a member of the major free trade partnership with the United States and Mexico, has said investors are worried.

In response, Lopez Obrador has announced a "pause" in relations with the US and Canadian embassies, criticizing the ambassadors' statements as "interventionist."

Human Rights Watch has urged lawmakers to reject what it called the "dangerous proposals," saying they would "seriously undermine judicial independence and contravene international human rights standards."