Mexican House of Representatives, Sept. 4, 2024. Photo: X/ @InfoNodal

Mexico City, September 4 (RHC)-- In the early hours of Wednesday, the Mexican Chamber of Deputies approved the judicial reform with 359 votes in favor and 135 votes against.

The legislators had to hold their plenary session at an alternate venue, the Sala de Armas in Magdalena Mixiuhca, as judicial officials blocked access to the San Lázaro headquarters.

Right-wing legislators argued that the session should not proceed due to the existence of two suspension orders issued by district judges, which they claimed prevented the parliamentary discussion of the judicial reform.

Despite attempts by opposition lawmakers to halt the discussion, the reform proposed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) was put to a vote and approved.

“The people are fed up with the dictatorship of the robe and cap, with corruption and nepotism in the Judiciary, and that’s why we will not hesitate.  We will go all the way with this and all 20 constitutional reforms,” said Ricardo Monreal, the coordinator of the ruling party’s (Movimiento de Renovación Nacional, Morena) parliamentary group.

The leftist legislator, who is also the president of the Chamber’s Political Coordination Board, emphasized that the reform aims for a profound change in the country’s judicial system.

“An educated elite used to judge with partial and economic criteria.  Now the judges will be ordinary Mexican lawyers, with a sense of respect for human rights and the ability to perceive social reality,” he said.