The Supreme Court has said that 8 of Mexico's 11 Supreme Court judges have submitted their resignations following controversial judicial reforms.
In a move that has sparked diplomatic tensions and opposition street protests, Mexico is poised to become the only country in the world to allow voters to elect all judges at all levels starting next year.
Eight judges, including President Norma Peña, have declined to stand for election in June 2025, a statement said, adding that one resignation will take effect in November and the rest will take effect next August.
The announcement comes at a time when the Supreme Court is preparing to consider a proposal to nullify the election of judges and magistrates. However, President Claudia Schinbaum has said that the court does not have the authority to overturn constitutional reforms approved by Congress.
“Eight people intend to change a reform about the Mexican people … do they understand the magnitude?” He told a news conference on Wednesday.
A day earlier, Scheinbaum suggested that the judges' real purpose is to protect their retirement benefits.
“If he resigns now, he will walk away with all of his retirement benefits,” Scheinbaum said. “If they don't resign now, they won't have their retirement benefits … which is a lot of money,” he added.
Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who implemented the reforms before leaving office in September, argued that the changes were needed to clean up a “rotten” judiciary that served the interests of political and economic elites.
Critics worry that elected judges may be influenced by politics and pressured by powerful drug cartels that regularly use bribery and intimidation to influence officials.
During his six years in office, López Obrador frequently criticized the Supreme Court, which blocked some of his policies in areas such as energy and security.
Sheinbaum, a close ally of Lopez Obrador, who became Mexico's first female president on October 1, has strongly supported judicial reform.
The changes sparked diplomatic friction with key economic partners the United States and Canada, rattled financial markets and triggered a series of protests by judicial activists and other opponents.
Washington warned that the reforms threaten ties that depend on investor confidence in Mexico's legal framework.