Congress forced into gym amid Mexico protests

‘END OF DEMOCRACY’:
An opponent of a proposed overhaul of the judicial system said the party with the majority could take over the judicial branch

After protesters blocked the entrance to Mexico’s Congress on Tuesday in an attempt to stop a judicial overhaul, lawmakers took the first steps to jam through the proposal at a nearby gymnasium.

The plan would make judges stand for election, something critics say would deal a severe blow to the independence of the judiciary, and the system of checks and balances.

The overhaul has fueled a wave of protests by judges, court employees and students across Mexico in the past few weeks, and reached another inflection point on Tuesday when protesters strung ropes across entrances to the lower house of Congress to block legislators from entering.

Photo: AFP

That came as the Mexican Supreme Court voted 8-3 to join strikes, adding more weight to the protests.

“The party with the majority could take control of the judicial branch, and that would practically be the end of democracy,” said protester Javier Reyes, a 37-year-old federal court worker. “They want to own Mexico.”

Despite that, lawmakers from Mexico’s governing party, Morena, and their allies appeared determined to quickly pass the reform. Unable to meet at the congressional building, they instead gathered in a sweltering gymnasium about 5km away to begin the voting process.

Photo: AFP

The party’s strong majority in a recently inaugurated Congress is paving the way for the reform to sail through the process with relative ease.

The proposal was met by hours of fierce debate on Tuesday night after workers laid out grapes, juices and other snacks in a congressional session reminiscent of a summer camp. As Morena politicians said they were building a justice system that would be an example globally, opposition lawmakers from the National Action Party (PAN) railed on the governing party.

“We should inaugurate a wall of shame that says: ‘Today begins the fall of our Republic.’ And it should have the date and all the faces of the Morena congressmen,” shouted Paulina Rubio Fernandez, a PAN congresswoman, surrounded by other members of her party.

Rubio Fernandez accused the president and his party of “lying” to get a majority in Congress, while another colleague in her party warned that Morena was “shooting itself in the foot” by passing the reform.

Outside, protesters roared, blocking streets and demanding lawmakers hear their objections to the proposal.

The reforms submitted by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Morena have drawn criticism domestically, and from foreign governments and investors. Lopez Obrador, who has long been at odds with the judiciary and other independent regulatory agencies, says that the proposal is necessary to fight corruption.

Critics say the overhaul would stack the courts in favor of Lopez Obrador’s party, politicize the judicial system and pose a threat to foreign investment.

Under the current system, judges and court secretaries, who act as judges’ assistants, slowly qualify for higher positions based on their record. Under the proposed changes, any lawyer with minimal qualifications could run.

The Morena party has the two-thirds majority in Congress needed to approve the reforms, which they should be able to do handily in the lower house of Congress.

The party’s congressional leader, Mexican Representative Ricardo Monreal, said there were no plans to abandon the reforms, adding: “This reform is going ahead.”