What to Know About Mexico's Huge New Reform, and Protests

Hundreds of protesters flooded Mexico's Senate on Tuesday before lawmakers approved a controversial constitutional amendment to force all judges to stand for election, which US Ambassador Ken Salazar has said presents "a major risk to the functioning of Mexico's democracy," per CNN. Outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum both back the amendment, which they say will address gross corruption in the courts. More:

• The votes: The amendment passed the Senate early Wednesday with an 86-41 vote after passing the lower house 359-135. The Morena ruling party and its allies hold two-thirds of the seats in the lower house and nearly two-thirds in the Senate.
• Becoming law: Morena also has a majority in 27 of 32 state legislatures. Just 17 need to ratify the legislation for it to take effect, per the AP. The Washington Post predicts that will happen "quickly."

• Judge selection: One major change would force judges to run for office at all levels, whether it be in local courts or the Supreme Court. There's also a limit that says no judicial worker can earn more than the president, per NPR.
• Power grab: Critics fear this will rid the country of "one of the last remaining checks on presidential power," per CNN. Obrador has long been critical of the Supreme Court, which has blocked some of his signature policy proposals.
• Fears of corruption: More than a century ago, Mexico did elect its judges. But the framers of the current constitution, passed in 1917, believed elected judges politicized the courts and led to corruption, NPR reports. One modern complaint is that drug traffickers could bankroll judges' electoral campaigns, per the Post.

• Protesters: Hundreds "broke down the doors of the Senate building" Tuesday in an attempt to disrupt the vote, per CNN. At least one person was injured. One senator claimed gasoline was thrown in his face, the Post reports, adding lawmakers evacuated to a nearby building and resumed debate "under heavy police guard."
• Judges on strike: Judges and judicial staff have been on strike since Aug. 19. A 30-year-old judicial worker who was at the Senate on Tuesday said lawmakers "have decided to sell out the nation," per the AP. "We intend to make it clear that the Mexican people won't allow them to lead us into a dictatorship," he added. The vote came later.

(More Mexico stories.)