Mexico’s Judicial Overhaul Passes Final Test as States Back Plan
- Bill can be signed into law after majority of states backed it
- Ruling Morena party expected to gain control over judiciary
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More than half of Mexico’s state legislatures voted in favor of a judicial overhaul that has already been approved by the nation’s congress, allowing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to sign the controversial bill into law.
By Thursday morning, 17 of the legislatures in Mexico’s 31 states and its capital had backed the constitutional reform that mandates that all federal judges, including those in the Supreme Court, be elected by popular vote. Critics of the plan warn it will likely give ruling Morena party control over the judiciary, eliminating checks and balances on the president’s power and setting back the country by 50 years.