Mexican judges strengthen fight against judicial reform

MEXICO CITY (CN) — Hundreds of judicial workers continued protesting Monday for a fifth straight day in front of the Senate of the Republic in Mexico City, blocking off main avenues in the center of the city. They were joined by Supreme Court Justice Luis María Aguilar Morales amid shouts of “the judicial power is not going to fall” and “you are not alone.”

Aguilar Morales expressed support for the demonstrators who have been camped outside the building in protest of a controversial judicial reform approved 25-12 by a Senate commission on Sunday, Sept. 8, setting up a vote on Wednesday before the entire Mexican Senate.

The reform, proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, would have judges and magistrates of the federal judicial branch be chosen by popular vote as opposed to a system based on professional proficiency, which critics say could lead to corruption and favoritism and an end to a “career” as a judge. Mexico’s 32 state judiciaries would also be chosen through a popular vote system.

The National Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation voted Monday to continue their suspension of daily activities, which started Sept. 3, through at least Sept. 12.

Justice Norma Piña, president of the Supreme Court, joined the demonstrators over the weekend in a similar show of support.

In a Sunday press conference, Piña called on legislators and members of the justice system to analyze twodocuments she released that outline her alternative to the proposed reforms.

“Our story cannot be defined from the easy narrative that all security and justice issues in the country are the fault of the judges. Those who believe so do not know Mexico,” Piña said. “Our conviction and commitment goes beyond us, it is with the generations that come and, fundamentally, with the country that we all long for.”

In his Monday morning press conference, López Obrador commented that the judicial reform will not destroy anything, “but quite the opposite.”

The National Association of Circuit Magistrates and District Judges of the Federal Judiciary, an organization that has been on strike since Aug. 20 and represents 1,200 judges and magistrates, requested that Piña stop the judicial reform for violating judicial independence.

On Sept. 5, Piña filed two consultations to see if she is authorized to stop the judicial reforms, an act which has no precedent in Mexico.

In his morning press conference on Sept. 5, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called her actions unconstitutional and self-serving.

“It would certainly affect what an authentic rule of law would be. It would be like opting for the law of the jungle, making it clear that they do not care about democracy or justice, that they are only thinking about their interests, their privileges and that they are openly supporters of corruption,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said.

The National Association of Circuit Magistrates and District Judges of the Federal Judiciary also sent a special commission to Geneva on Monday to attend a United Nations event in defense of human rights they claim are being violated by the judicial reform.

The reform would also create a system of anonymous judges to hear organized crime cases, reduce the number of Supreme Court Justices from 11 to nine, and reduce judicial terms from 15 to 12 years.

The entire judicial branch of Mexico consists of around 7,000 judges, all of whom would be elected if the reform passes on Wednesday as expected.