Mexican Senate Stormed After Supreme Court Reform Vote

Hundreds of protesters stormed the Mexican Senate on Tuesday after the ruling party tried to push through a controversial plan to reform the country’s judiciary.

The ruling Morena party managed to gain the number of votes needed to pass the bill after a member of the opposition party, the conservative National Action Party (PAN), changed his mind and supported the bill.

Critics and observers say the plan, under which all judges would be elected, could threaten the independence of the judiciary and undermine the system of checks and balances.

Law enforcement officials and law students have been protesting against the plan for several weeks.

The Senate was forced to temporarily recess on Tuesday after protesters broke into the chamber in an attempt to interrupt the vote.

Protesters armed with pipes and chains forced their way inside, causing at least one person to faint.

Inside, protesters waved Mexican flags and banners denouncing a proposed overhaul of the judiciary, shouting: “The judiciary will not fall!”

Opposition senators joined the protesters, chanting slogans against the reform.

The crowds gathered outside the Senate erupted in cheers as soon as news of the adjournment broke.

The debate on the reform moved to another building, where further clashes broke out between protesters and police, who used tear gas.

Alejandro Navarrete, a 30-year-old justice worker, said people like him who work in the courts, “aware of the dangers of the reform,” asked the Senate to reject the proposal.

“They decided to sell their country and sell it for the political capital that was offered to them. We felt obliged to enter the Senate,” he said, carrying a Mexican flag.

“Our intention is not violence, we did not intend to hurt them, but we are going to make it clear that the Mexican people will not allow them to lead us to dictatorship.”

The proposed reform was passed by the lower house of Congress last week, although Morena did not receive the required supermajority.

The plan received two opposition votes but was one vote short earlier this week.

Speculation had been growing that conservative Senator Miguel Ángel Yunes Márquez might support the legislation.

On Tuesday, Yunes Márquez announced he would be taking a leave of absence due to health problems. He will be replaced by his father, Miguel Ángel Yunes Linares, who has said he will vote for the plan despite acknowledging its flaws.

He said he realized the plan was “not the best,” but added that introducing more regulations could improve it.

“Mexico will not be destroyed for approving this reform, nor will the reform automatically change the reality of the justice system, which calls for fundamental changes,” said Yunes Linares.

His arrival in the Senate was greeted with both applause from senators from the Morena district and condemnation from his own party.

PAN senator Lilly Téllez threw coins at Yunes Linares, calling him a “traitor.”

PAN leader Marko Cortés accused the Yunes family and the government of a “pact of impunity.”

Yunes Márquez was arrested in July for alleged document forgery and fraud in connection with his candidacy.

Yunes challenged the decision and obtained a temporary suspension, calling it political persecution by the ruling Morena party.

If approved by the Senate, the reform would need ratification by 17 of Mexico’s 32 state legislatures, where the ruling party is likely to have sufficient support.

Outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says his plan aims to curb corruption by making it easier to punish judges.

Critics say the bill would weaken the judiciary, put judges on courts who favor the president’s party, make it possible for anyone with a law degree to become a judge and even make it easier for politicians and criminals to influence the courts.

U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar called it a “threat” to democracy and a threat to economic stability.

Criticism of the reforms from the United States and Canada prompted the government to announce last month a “freeze” on diplomatic relations with both embassies.

The article uses information from the Associated Press