Mexico federal court employees strike over judicial changes requiring that judges stand for election

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Employees at Mexico’s federal courts went on strike on Monday over measures that would make all judges stand for election as part of a judicial overhaul proposed by outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Unionized court employees put chains and locks on the gates at several courthouses, saying the measures would deal a significant blow to checks and balances in Mexico and also threaten their working conditions, benefits and salaries. The strike comes amid a long-running rift between the populist leader and the judiciary, spurring on democratic concerns.

Striking employees also objected to changes that would eliminate the system by which judges and court employees accumulate experience and move up to higher positions.

Organizers said thousands of federal court workers joined the strike, which they plan to continue until López Obrador drops his proposals.

Argelia Román Mojica, a federal judge who has worked in Mexico’s judiciary for nearly 25 years, was outside a federal court in Mexico City on Monday morning, alongside hundreds of other protesters.

“It’s a way to put an end to judicial power, a violation of the separation of powers,” said Román Mojica, adding that it's not the "way to improve a justice system.”

López Obrador’s proposals would allow anyone with a law degree and a few years of experience as a lawyer to be elected a judge.

The president, who leaves office Sept. 30, says many judges in Mexico are corrupt and has frequently publicly sparred those whose rulings he disagrees with. His administration has also botched many of the cases it brings to court and then blamed the judges.

López Obrador is known for his dislike of independent regulatory and oversight agencies — most of which he wants to eliminate. Critics say the judicial reforms are aimed at weakening the independence of the judiciary and eliminating checks and balances on a president’s powers.

In Mexico City, the protesters carried signs reading “For impartial justice, judicial independence.” Mexicans with court appointments were turned away.

It wasn’t clear whether any of Mexico’s state courts — which are more numerous — would be affected by the strike. Strike spokesperson Fernando Miguez said they were in talks with some courts in Mexico City to have them join the strike.

“Starting today, this (strike) is indefinite,” he said. “Judicial independence is being transgressed ... And we're not going to take that.”

Many fear the changes would be a blow to their careers, such as Ana Paola Cid, a 31-year-old judicial official. Decades of studying and working are required to reach the position of a judge or magistrate.

“To get to these positions, you need knowledge and experience," Paola Cid said. "People need to know that you don't just need a law degree, but you also need to know the judicial system and be here for years working to know what is done in the courts.”

“They are within their rights to protest,” López Obrador said of the demonstrations Monday, but insisted that court employees had been misled, and that the judicial reforms wouldn’t affect their wages.

“The reform that is being proposed does not hurt workers, rather it benefits them,” he added.