Protesters flood Mexico’s Senate during controversial judicial reform debate

(CNN) — Mexican lawmakers were forced to suspend debate on a controversial judicial reform after protesters broke down the doors of the Senate building and forced their way into the upper house’s session hall.

The vote on the sweeping constitutional reform – under which Mexicans would elect judges at all levels of government by popular vote – was later passed by the Senate, clearing a key hurdle.

Earlier on Tuesday a crowd broke into the upper house, forcing Senate President Gerardo Fernandez Noroña to ask his colleagues to evacuate the hall to avoid confrontations with the protesters.

Dramatic footage of the scene showed protesters banging on the doors of the chamber while others waved the Mexican flag from a gallery above the floor of the Senate. Some lawmakers were seen cheering on the demonstrators.

At least one person has been injured in the unrest, according to the Senate communications team.

The constitutional changes that sparked the unrest are being championed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has long been critical of his country’s Supreme Court after it stood in the way of some of his signature policy proposals.

Legal experts say the proposed procedure would turn Mexico into an international outlier.

The reform sailed through the lower chamber of Congress last week, but López Obrador’s ruling coalition needed a supermajority to approve it in the upper house.

In the end it received a general approval with 86 votes in favor, 41 against and zero abstentions.

The bill faced rare and stinging critique from US Ambassador Ken Salazar in Mexico City, in which he called the election of judges “a major risk to the functioning of Mexico’s democracy.”

His comments have led to a spat between the countries. Warnings from business groups that the reform could undermine the Mexican investment environment have sent the value of the peso tumbling.

López Obrador, a popular leftist, says the overhaul is necessary to rid Mexico’s judiciary of corruption and ensure it is responsive to popular will. Critics of the reform call it a power grab that will compromise one of the last remaining checks on presidential power.

Supreme Court judges in Mexico are usually nominated by the president and must be approved in the Senate. Federal judges are selected by a judicial commission that uses professional exams and coursework to evaluate candidates on a meritocratic basis.

If passed, the reform would lead to judicial elections, which would take place next year after a period of campaigning; about 7,000 judges would be required to battle for their seats, or turn the gavel over to the most popular candidate.

The overhaul comes as López Obrador’s political movement grows in power. His protege, Claudia Sheinbaum, was elected president by a landslide in June, and has supported efforts to reform the judiciary.

Sheinbaum, who takes office in October, challenged the perception that the reform would concentrate power for her ruling party, Morena, saying that the process of nominating judge candidates will be split between the three branches of government.

This story has been updated.

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