US Ambassador Warns Mexico’s Judiciary Reform Proposal Will Cause ‘Turbulence’

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar promotes America's Great Outdoors initiative at Central Park, New York, in this file photo. Amal Chen/The Epoch Times

U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar warned on Aug. 22 that a judicial reform proposed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will “create turbulence” in the country’s economy in the coming years.

The controversial reform, set for a congressional vote in September, includes a provision requiring judges to be elected by popular vote. López Obrador has said that the reform is needed to combat judicial corruption.

However, Salazar said the proposed reform will not address judicial corruption in Mexico or strengthen its judicial branch but instead poses “a major risk” to the country’s democracy.

“It would also weaken the efforts to make North American economic integration a reality and would create turbulence as the debate over direct election will continue over the next several years,” the U.S. envoy said in a statement.

Salazar warned that the changes will allow drug cartels to exploit the country’s judiciary and put the U.S.–Mexican trade relations in jeopardy, which he said “relies on investors’ confidence in Mexico’s legal framework.”

“Direct elections would also make it easier for cartels and other bad actors to take advantage of politically motivated and inexperienced judges,” he said.

Salazar said the judicial branch in Mexico needs “capable judges” to handle complex litigation for extraditions, trade disputes, and other issues.

But the proposal will remove the necessary qualifications for judges, allowing those with only a few years of legal experience to become judges through popular vote, he noted.

“Any judicial reform should have the right kinds of safeguards that will ensure the judicial branch will be strengthened and not subject to the corruption of politics,” Salazar said.

Judges and magistrates went on a strike this week to protest the judicial reform. They argued that the reform would end merit-based career paths and make the judiciary more vulnerable to outside influence.

Juana Fuentes, leader of the union for Mexico’s judges and magistrates, said the strike would continue until the proposal was scrapped, although the judiciary would still take on urgent cases.

“We are heading towards an unprecedented constitutional crisis, a crisis that, if not stopped, will leave deep scars in our social fabric,” Fuentes told reporters on Aug. 21.

López Obrador said during a press conference that he would remain firm on his proposal and that the strike would not result in any changes. His term as president is set to end next month, and he will be succeeded by Claudia Sheinbaum.

The Mexican peso fell by more than 2 percent on Aug. 21, and the Mexican stock market declined by 0.6 percent following the strike.

Reuters contributed to this report.