Mexico’s Obrador Enacts Judicial Reforms to Elect Judges by Popular Vote
Mexico’s judicial reform overhauling the country’s courts, which will allow voters to elect judges, officially took effect on Sunday (September 15, 2024) after the text of the constitutional changes was published in the government gazette.
The reforms mark a major legislative victory in President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s final weeks in office.
Mr. Lopez Obrador, who often clashed with judges he derided as corrupt, argued the overhaul was needed to serve ordinary citizens’ interests better. Critics countered that electing judges rather than appointing them, will end the judiciary’s political independence while undermining investor confidence.
The reform was championed by Mr. Lopez Obrador, and approved by his allies in Congress and a majority of state legislatures earlier this month.
Mr. Lopez Obrador signed a decree for the reform’s publication while sitting next to his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, in a video posted on social media.
The constitutional reform’s publication in the government’s gazette kicks off the process of preparing for the first judicial elections for federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, set for next June.
