MEXICO CITY 鈥� Mexico passed into law Sunday a constitutional amendment remaking its entire judiciary, marking the most far-reaching overhaul of a country鈥檚 court system ever carried out by a major democracy.
The results demonstrate the exceptional influence of President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador of Mexico, who championed the legislation. The victory of his allies in June elections afforded them substantial legislative majorities to advance the contentious proposal in the leader鈥檚 final weeks in office. On the eve of Mexico鈥檚 Independence Day, the measure was published in the government鈥檚 official gazette, making it law.
The law shifts the judiciary from an appointment-based system, largely grounded in training and qualifications, to one where voters elect judges and there are fewer requirements to run. That puts Mexico onto an untested course, the consequences of which are difficult to foresee.
READ MORE: Mexico will amend its constitution this weekend to require all judges to be elected
鈥淣ow it鈥檚 different,鈥� L贸pez Obrador said in a video posted on social media Sunday night in which his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, was seated next to him. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 the people who rule, the people who decide.鈥�
Roughly 7,000 judges, from the chief justice of the Supreme Court down to those at local courts, will have to run for office under the new system. The changes will be put into effect gradually, with a large portion of the judiciary up for election in 2025 and the rest in 2027.
The government said the overhaul was needed to modernize the courts and to instill trust in a system plagued by graft, influence peddling and nepotism. Sheinbaum takes office on Oct. 1 and has fully backed the plan.
But the proposal was met fierce resistance from judicial workers, law experts, investors, judges, students, opposition legislators and other critics. L贸pez Obrador鈥檚 vow to push it through kept financial markets on edge and caused a diplomatic spat with the U.S. and Canadian ambassadors.
Despite protests and strikes by a range of groups including more than 50,000 judges and court workers over the past several weeks, the proposal passed easily through the lower house of Congress, in which the president鈥檚 party, Morena, holds a supermajority. On Wednesday, the Senate narrowly passed it despite a delay caused by protesters forcing their way into the building.
By Thursday, the bill was approved by a majority of the 32 state legislatures, the final requirement before being published into law.
This article originally appeared in . 漏 2024 The New York Times
