Mexican senate resumes debate on judicial reform after protestors force pause

emonstrators enter the Senate building as a highly contested judicial reform proposal is debated, following its approval by the Chamber of Deputies and backing by senators at the commission stage, in Mexico City, Mexico, September 10, 2024. /Raquel Cunha

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's Senate resumed debate on a controversial judicial overhaul on Tuesday evening at an alternative location after protesters broke into the Senate chamber mid-session.

Demonstrators forced their way into the Senate building as debate was underway, marking an escalation of weeks of widespread protest against the reform, which critics fear could undermine the country's rule of law.

The debate, which will likely go into the early hours of Wednesday morning, kicked off again at 7 p.m. local time (0100 GMT) after being relocated to the Senate's former base, the Xicotencatl building.

Earlier in the day, Senate President Jose Gerardo Fernandez suspended the session and asked lawmakers to remain calm as demonstrators flooded the upper level of the chamber, chanting "traitors" in opposition to the reform.

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.

The reform also proposes reducing the number of Supreme Court justices to nine from 11, shortening their terms to 12 years and cutting required work experience from 10 to five years.

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 is expected to be tight, with the ruling coalition formally one senator short, though speculation is mounting that opposition PAN Senator Miguel Angel Yunes could favor the reform.

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; additional reporting by Diego Ore and Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer, Alistair Bell, Leslie Adler and Michael Perry)