As Mexican protesters block Congress over judicial overhaul, lawmakers head to vote in nearby gym

(4 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mexico City, Mexico - 03 September 2024
1. Federal court workers blocking entrance to lower house of Congress
2. Lower house sign
3. Protester chanting UPSOUND (Spanish), "We are lawyers — not paid protesters"
4. Close of protester banging on makeshift drum
5. Protesters holding banners
6. Close of banner reading (Spanish), "Politicians don’t deliver sentences and judges don’t do politics"
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Rafael Rodríguez, federal court worker:
"We will not be at the service of a political party. Judges should not be elected by popular vote. Judges must be elected according to their knowledge, studies and exam results; according to the career in the judiciary that has allowed them to reach that position."
8. Federal court workers chanting in front of pro-government protesters
9. Pro-government protesters hold banner against Mexican opposition parties and main television networks
10. Various of pro-government protesters shouting slogans
11. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) María de los Ángeles Ortiz, Supreme Court worker:
"And now we are being attacked and accused of being corrupt when those who are accusing us of being corrupt are the real corrupt ones. So, they left us no choice but to take to the streets."
12. Entrance to sports complex where Congress session is being held
13. Lawmakers inside gymnasium
14. Leader of ruling party Morena’s lower house representatives, Ricardo Monreal, addresses lawmakers
15. Various of lawmakers inside gymnasium
16. Lawmakers of Morena and allies shouting slogans and applauding
17. Law students blocking traffic outside sports complex where Congress session is being held
18. Protesters holding banners, chanting
19. Close of flag of National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
20. Close of banner reading (Spanish), "Legislators, listen to the youth - We will be left with the Mexico that you vote on"
21. Various of protesters holding banners, chanting

STORYLINE:
Demonstrators in Mexico City blocked entrances to Congress on Tuesday to protest a judicial overhaul that would make judges stand for election.

Despite that, lawmakers from Mexico’s ruling party, Morena, and their allies appeared determined to push through the reform.

Unable to meet at the congressional building, they instead gathered in a sweltering gymnasium about 3 miles (5 kilometers) away to begin the voting process.

Outside, a pack of protesters roared, blocking streets and demanding lawmakers hear their objections to the proposal.

The protests came as the country's Supreme Court voted 8-3 to join strikes by court employees and law students that have been taking place across the country for weeks.

The ruling coalition's two-thirds majority in a recently inaugurated Congress is paving the way for the reform to sail through the process with relative ease.

The constitutional reforms submitted by outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Morena have drawn criticism both domestically and from foreign governments and investors.

Critics say the overhaul would stack the courts in favor of López Obrador’s party, politicize the judicial system and pose a threat to foreign investment.

López Obrador, a populist who has long been at odds with the judiciary and other independent regulatory agencies, maintains the proposal is necessary to fight corruption.

Under the current system, judges and court secretaries, who act as judges’ assistants, slowly qualify for higher positions based on their record.





AP video by Martín Silva Rey



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