Mexico’s Judicial Overhaul Passes Final Test as States Back Plan

(Bloomberg) -- 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.

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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.

Members of the Supreme Court will be elected in a national vote next year, along with half of all federal judges. The remaining judges, including those in the electoral court, will be picked in 2027.

Amid protests, the bill passed the Senate by the narrowest possible margin after one member of the opposition changed his vote in the last minute. Since the reform changes the constitution, it required a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress to be approved.

--With assistance from Carolina Millan.

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