President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said today that he sent a diplomatic note to the United States government in response to statements by that country’s ambassador, Ken Salazar, regarding the controversial proposal to reform the Judiciary in the Latin American nation.
Salazar said Thursday that direct election of judges, a key element of the controversial reform that has scared off investors, constitutes a “major risk” to Mexico’s democracy. He also said any reform must have “safeguards” to guarantee the independence of the judiciary.
“There have been recent acts of disrespect for our sovereignty, such as this unfortunate, reckless statement by Ambassador Ken Salazar. A diplomatic note has already been issued,” the president said at his usual press conference.
“We do not accept interference, we do not accept that any representative of foreign governments intervene in matters that only we Mexicans should resolve and settle,” added López Obrador, whose term ends on October 1.
Canadian Ambassador Graeme C. Clark also criticized the reform at an event on Thursday afternoon. “My investors are concerned, they want stability, they want a judicial system that works if there are problems,” he said.
The Mexican president said he would also send a diplomatic note to the Canadian government, although he did not provide further details.
The controversial reform seeks to have more than 7,000 judges, magistrates and ministers of the Supreme Court elected by popular vote.
In protest, thousands of workers in the sector began a work stoppage this week while Congress, with a pro-government majority, prepares to vote on the changes in September.
López Obrador argues that a transformation of the justice system is necessary because “it is not at the service of the people” and “responds to the interests of organized crime.”
Later on Friday, in response to Salazar, the next Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, defended AMLO’s reform and ruled out that it would jeopardize the North American trade agreement, known as USMCA and made up of the United States, Canada and Mexico, as the ambassador assured.
“The revision of the Treaty is a different process (…) and it is in the best interest of Mexico and the United States to defend it (…) that they do not threaten us with that,” said Ebrad in a press conference.
Among other changes, the reform proposes reducing the number of members of the Supreme Court from 11 to nine, creating an autonomous administrative body, a disciplinary court, a profound reengineering of the main axes of the justice system and a civic and alternative justice scheme to relieve pressure on the penal system.
The union maintains that the proposal, presented by AMLO in February, violates their rights because it would eliminate the judicial career path for accessing the positions of judges and opens the possibility for powerful groups, even illegal ones, to take over the justice system with the popular election of judges.
-With information from Reuters.
