 "Mexico, Mexico City, Angel of Independence")
Mexico’s major trading partners, the United States and Canada, have warned the changes could undermine the trade pact | Image: Wikimedia commons
Mexico’s Senate paused debate of a controversial judicial overhaul on Tuesday after protesters broke into the building, adding drama to already tense discussions of the reform, which critics fear could undermine the country’s rule of law.
Senate President Jose Gerardo Fernandez said the session was “suspended” and asked lawmakers to remain calm as demonstrators flooded the upper level of the chamber, chanting “traitors” in opposition to the reform, which has prompted weeks of widespread protest.
Later, lawmakers and the Senate’s communications team said the session was expected to restart at 7 p.m. local time (0100 GMT), relocating to the Senate’s former base, the Xicotencatl building.
Mexico’s major trading partners, the United States and Canada, have warned the changes could undermine the trade pact of the three countries, the USMCA, and negatively impact investment.
The backbone of the constitutional reform, proposed by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, calls for the election by popular vote of more than 6,500 judges and magistrates, including the Supreme Court.
Lopez Obrador and President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum have vigorously defended the reform as essential for holding judges accountable and reducing corruption.
Critics have attacked it as a blatant doubling-down of power by ruling party Morena.
As senators debated the reform, opposition lawmakers accused the ruling bloc of underhanded tactics to secure the necessary two-thirds majority.
The vote, which will likely go into the early hours of Wednesday morning, is expected to be tight, with the ruling coalition formally one senator short.
But speculation is mounting that opposition PAN Senator Miguel Angel Yunes has switched allegiance to the ruling bloc over the reform.
While the Senate was in session, Yunes requested medical leave in a letter read by the secretary of the Senate’s board of directors. His father, acting as his substitute, did not say which way he would vote but was booed by PAN lawmakers who expect him to favor the reform.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: Sep 11 2024 | 8:35 AM IST
