Mexico ratifies contentious judicial overhaul

The reform pushed through by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will require all judges to be elected

Mexican judicial workers protest overhaul of judicial system
This is the "most far-reaching judicial overhaul ever attempted by a large democracy"
(Image credit: Julio Cesar Aguilar / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

Mexico has amended its constitution to make all judgeships elected positions, a controversial judicial overhaul pushed by outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The Senate approved the amendment early Wednesday, after an opposition lawmaker defected and protesters stormed the Senate chamber, and a majority of Mexico's 32 states then ratified it over the next 36 hours. "With now 18 approving it, well, now it’s legal," Lopéz Obrador said yesterday morning.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.