MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Over 1,000 more judges and magistrates in Mexico have voted to join an indefinite nationwide strike that began on Monday amid mounting protest against a plan by the ruling party to overhaul the country’s judiciary.
The National Association of Circuit Magistrates and District Judges, which represents some 1,400 judges and magistrates, said late on Monday its members will join the strike on Wednesday, after a landslide vote on Monday in favor of the protest.
The judicial reform, by which judges – including Supreme Court justices – will be elected by popular vote, is a top priority of outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Markets have been spooked by the proposals, however, amid concern the changes could erode checks and balances over presidential power and lead to the political capture of the judiciary.
On Tuesday, Lopez Obrador called the strike “illegal,” and suggested the judges were corrupt, while speaking during his regular morning press conference.
“With all frankness and respect, I’d say to them that (the strike) might even help us because if the judges and magistrates and ministers are not working, at least we’ll have the guarantee that they are not going to let criminals of organized crime go free,” he said.
The unions that went on strike on Monday represent many of Mexico’s 55,000 judicial workers.
They say the reform would end merit-based career paths.
The reform will be voted on by lawmakers from the newly-elected Congress next month during the leftist leader’s final month in office.
Former Supreme Court justice Arturo Zaldivar blamed the strike on poor leadership by the current Supreme Court president Norma Piña, who has frequently clashed with the president.
Last week, the Morena party’s leader in the lower house of Congress detailed a proposal to enact the overhaul in stages, with the election of all Supreme Court judges next year, along with half of all magistrates. The rest would be elected in 2027.
(Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez and Raul Cortes in Mexico City, writing by Laura Gottesdiener in Monterrey; Editing by Rod Nickel)
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