Mexico City (AFP) - Lawmakers in Mexico approved controversial reforms on Wednesday that will make it the first country to allow voters to elect all judges, hours after protesters invaded the Senate to disrupt debate.

Outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had pushed hard for the constitutional changes, criticizing the current judicial system as “rotten,” corrupt and serving the interests of the political and economic elite.

But opponents and legal experts warn that elected judges could be more vulnerable to pressure from criminals, in a country where powerful drug cartels regularly use bribery and intimidation to influence officials.

The leftist leader said the reforms – which have sparked street protests, diplomatic tensions and investor concerns – would be an “example to the world.”

“It’s very important to end corruption and impunity. We will make great progress when it is the people of Mexico who freely elect the judges, the magistrates, the justices,” the 70-year-old told a news conference.

“Judges, with honorable exceptions… are at the service of a predatory minority that has dedicated itself to plundering the country,” he added.

Lopez Obrador has frequently lashed out at the judiciary since taking office in 2018 – in particular the Supreme Court, which has impeded some of his policies in areas such as energy and security.

The judicial reform was approved by 86 votes to 41 in the Senate in the morning’s early hours, garnering the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution, in an upper chamber dominated by the ruling coalition.

Legislators were forced to suspend their debate and move to another location after demonstrators stormed the Senate, chanting “The judiciary will not fall.”

Lopez Obrador, who wanted the bill approved before close ally Claudia Sheinbaum replaces him on October 1, accused protesters of protecting the interests of the political elite.

The reforms have the full support of Sheinbaum, who said they would strengthen the justice system.

“The regime of corruption and privileges is becoming more and more a thing of the past,” she wrote Wednesday on social media platform X.

Meanwhile, the Mexican peso appreciated about 1.5 percent against the dollar, buoyed by investor confidence after the reforms passed, according to traders in New York.

The peso had hit a two-year low in early August due to pressure by investors who were concerned the reforms would influence the independence of judges.

- ‘Powerful forces’ -

The plan, which had already cleared the lower house, must now be approved by 17 of 32 state congresses – considered a formality given the ruling coalition’s political dominance – before being signed into law by the president.

Opponents, who accuse Lopez Obrador of overseeing a trend toward democratic backsliding, have held a series of protests against the plan, under which even Supreme Court and other high-level judges would be chosen by popular vote.

Around 1,600 judges would have to stand for election in 2025 or 2027.

“This does not exist in any other country,” Margaret Satterthwaite, UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, told AFP ahead of the vote.

“Without strong safeguards to guard against the infiltration of organized crime (in the judicial selection process), an election system may become vulnerable to such powerful forces,” she warned.

Demonstrators, including court employees and law students, were back on the streets Wednesday, hours after the reforms were passed.

“We are not going to surrender,” said Mario Dominguez, a magistrate from the western state of Jalisco.

- ‘Demolition’ of judiciary -

In an unusual public warning, Supreme Court chief justice Norma Pina has said that elected judges could become susceptible to pressure from criminal groups.

“The demolition of the judiciary is not the way forward,” she said in a video released on Sunday.

The United States, Mexico’s main trading partner, has warned that the reforms would threaten a relationship that relies on investor confidence in the Mexican legal framework.

The changes could pose “a major risk” to Mexican democracy and enable criminals to exploit “politically motivated and inexperienced judges,” US Ambassador Ken Salazar said last month.

Human Rights Watch had urged lawmakers to reject what it called the “dangerous proposals,” saying they would “seriously undermine judicial independence and contravene international human rights standards.”