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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -A highly contested proposal on judicial reform that critics say will hurt Mexico's business climate edged closer to approval when senators late on Sunday backed it at the commission stage.
Under the planned reform, more than 7,000 judges and magistrates, including from the Supreme Court, would be elected by popular vote, a change that critics say would weaken a crucial check on the power of the executive branch.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has pushed the proposal, which has strained relations with the United States. Advocates say it will bolster Mexican democracy and they point to public support for the reforms in multiple polls.
Senators backed the bill in the commissions by 25 votes to 12 against. It has already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house, and is now scheduled for debate and a final vote by the full Senate on Wednesday.
In the Senate, the ruling party and its allies need just one opposition senator to secure the reform's passage. Opposition senators have vowed to vote against the measure.
During Sunday's debate, Supreme Court President Norma Pina called on legislators to listen to proposals by the judges before backing any change.
"The demolition of the judicial system isn't the way," Pina said in a televised address surrounded by Supreme Court and federal judiciary workers.
Workers in the judicial system, civilian groups and university students opposed to the reform have staged multi-day protests around the Senate and in several cities across Mexico, which has the second largest economy in Latin America.
Other protesters took to the streets to show their support for the reform and for the president. Authorities have reported no incidents at the protests.
Lopez Obrador has said the reform aims to "clean out corruption" in the judiciary. "What's the fear?" he asked during a speech on Sunday at a public event.
Mexico's lower house approved the reform last Wednesday after a marathon session.
(Reporting by Noe Torres; Additional reporting by Raul Cortes and Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Alexander VIllegas and Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Gareth Jones)
