Mexico's Congress to debate controversial judicial reform on Tuesday

By Diego Oré

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's Lower House of Congress is slated to open debate on Tuesday on a controversial judicial reform and is expected to pass the legislation later in the week, Ricardo Monreal, the ruling party leader in the chamber said on Sunday.

The judicial overhaul, proposed by outgoing president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and backed by incoming president Claudia Sheinbaum, has sparked a strike by judicial workers, strained relations with the United States and spooked foreign investors.

The backbone of the constitutional reform would see more than 7,000 judges and magistrates elected by popular vote. It would reduce the number of judges on the Supreme Court from 11 to 9, and shorten their terms from 15 to 12 years. It would also create a new body to supervise judges.

Supporters of the reform say it is necessary to address Mexico's high level of impunity for violent crimes.

Monreal said on Sunday that lawmakers would debate and vote on the reform on Tuesday and Wednesday and then send the legislation to the Senate. The ruling Morena party and its allies hold a two-thirds supermajority in the lower house and are only one seat short in the Senate.

On Sunday, university students and judicial workers protested in front of the Senate headquarters in opposition to the measures.

Obrador says the reforms are necessary because the judicial system is "not at the service of the people" and instead "responds to the interests of organized crime."

But experts say that much of this impunity is driven by prosecutors, police and state-level attorney general offices, who have limited resources and whose offices are often plagued with corruption. These entities would not be affected by the judicial reform.

The unions representing judicial workers say the proposed changes would trample on labor rights and that the popular election of judges risks allowing special interests - including criminal groups - to seize control of the judiciary.

(Reporting by Diego Ore in Mexico City, Writing by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Michael Perry)