( Spanish) – Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that he expects the judicial reform to be published on September 15, Sunday and the eve of the Mexican Independence celebrations since, he said, “it is a very important reform.”
This Thursday, the minimum of 17 states that, through their congresses, gave their approval to the ruling party’s project, previously approved by Congress, was reached and surpassed.
“In all these states, the reform to the Judicial Branch has already been approved. The local congresses, a constitutional reform requires the approval of the Chamber of Deputies, the Chamber of Senators, with a qualified majority, plus half plus one of the states, of the federative entities,” AMLO explained about the process of approving the reform.
“The only thing missing is the publication, that is the responsibility of the head of the Executive. Well, it would be good to think about publishing it on September 15 because it is a very important reform. It is to reaffirm that in Mexico there is an authentic democracy. That the people elect their representatives. That the people elect the public servants of the three powers. That is a democracy. Not the elites. Not the so-called political class. Not the oligarchy. Everyone, every citizen,” he added.
Once the bill has been approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, and has been passed through the state legislatures, it must be communicated to the Federal Executive, signed by the presidents of each of the chambers. It is now up to the President of the Republic to express his agreement by sanctioning the law and ordering its promulgation or to express his disagreement by formulating objections to the bill.
If the President agrees with the entire project, he will proceed to sanction it and order its promulgation as law. It should be noted that sanction “is the act of acceptance of a law initiative or decree by the Executive Branch,” established in Article 72 of the Mexican Constitution.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution, the opinions, without exception, “must be published in the Parliamentary Gazette no later than 48 hours before the start of the session in which they will be made available at the session.”
Constitutional reforms in Mexico come into effect on the same day they are published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, unless the Constituent Assembly establishes a specific date of entry into force.
U.S. Congresswomen María Elvira Salazar and Greg Stanton presented a bipartisan resolution on Wednesday expressing their concern about the reform of the Judicial Branch in Mexico, proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Salazar, chairwoman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, and Stanton, a Democratic congresswoman from Arizona, say the reform would “radically change the judicial system” in Mexico, according to a statement.
“The reforms proposed by the current government threaten to take Mexico back to the days of one-party rule,” Salazar said, referring to the period when the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) maintained a hegemonic system in the country for decades.
Stanton, for his part, expressed his concern as a representative of a border state that, he said, “benefits in many ways from our close relationship with Mexico.”
“However, I am deeply concerned that the proposed constitutional reforms will jeopardize this shared economic and security interest,” he added in the statement.
has requested comment from the Mexican government regarding its position on the resolution presented by Stanton and Salazar, but has not yet received a response.
The rating agency Moody’s warned on Wednesday of the risk that judicial reform in Mexico represents for its credit rating, according to a report.
The report warns that the greatest level of impact is faced by the country’s sovereign debt, which it rates as high and “significant”, while for companies, energy and infrastructure it is moderate and for banks, it is low.
“The reform, which stipulates that judges be elected by popular vote, will erode checks and balances and could undermine Mexico’s economic and fiscal strength,” the agency said in a statement.
has requested a comment from the Mexican government to find out its position on the Moody’s report, but has not yet received a response.
During his daily press conference on Thursday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador rejected the idea that judicial reform would affect foreign investment in the country.
“It is not true that because of judicial reform, capital was leaving the country or foreign investment was not arriving. Pure fiction,” said the Mexican president.
He added: “Just to give you an idea, last year we achieved a record in foreign investment: US$35 billion. A record in the entire history of Mexico. And so far this year, in the first half of the year, there has already been US$30 billion in investment.”
–With information from Natalia Cano, from .
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