Foreign business chambers have been warning for weeks that a proposed overhaul of Mexico's judiciary , that would make judges stand for election, will hurt foreign businesses and endanger investment in Mexico.
And President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has spent weeks trying to calm those fears , saying it's simply a pro-democracy measure. But on Friday, outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador - who came up with the plan - confirmed that the sweeping changes are indeed aimed directly at foreign firms.
"The corrupt judges, ministers, justices, are they going to continue defending this? Are they going to continue defending foreign companies that come to loot, rob and affect the economy of the Mexican people?" Lopez Obrador said. "Are they going to continue representing these companies?"
Critics say the constitutional changes to replace 7,000 judges nationwide would deal a severe blow to the independence of the judiciary, making them more loyal to their constituents or the ruling party than to the law. They also question how such massive elections could be carried out without having drug cartels and criminals field their own candidates.
It was yet another bucket of cold water for Sheinbaum, who has spent her entire political career as a protegee of Lopez Obrador and has pledged to continue all of his polices. After the Mexican peso plunged in value following her victory in the June 2 elections, she has walked a tightrope.
