The reform to the Judicial Branch , proposed by the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador , which proposes, among other measures, that judges, ministers and magistrates can be elected by popular vote, carries the risk of canceling foreign investment projects , capital flight and would put at risk the revision of the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC) , according to specialists in the matter.
It also opens the possibility of increased labour complaints through the Labour Rapid Response Mechanism (LRRM) under the trade agreement.
“In the short term, labor lawsuits against Mexico by the United States and Canada through the MLRR will increase due to the violation of labor rights by companies located in the country,” warned Joel Hernández Reyes, director of the Hernández Reyes y Asociados Law Firm .
In a statement, the union stressed that it is worrying that the conflict over judicial reform has escalated to the trade relationship between the three countries, adding that with the withdrawal of investments, there will also be job losses, which will disrupt workers’ rights , and as a consequence, a significant number of individual lawsuits will be observed.
The ambassadors of Canada in Mexico, Graeme C. Clark , and of the United States , Ken Salazar , expressed their concern about some points of said reform, which has generated legal uncertainty among foreign investors .
In response to this, on August 27, President López Obrador took a “diplomatic pause” with these North American nations, which businessmen consider worrying in the run-up to the review of the T-MEC, which will take place in 2026 .
Amid nationwide protests by workers in the Judiciary, who have even stopped work, on August 26 the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved the general opinion of the aforementioned reform, with 22 votes in favor and 17 against .
In the face of various expressions against this reform and rethinking that business organizations have suggested, the recently appointed coordinator of Morena in the Chamber of Deputies , Ricardo Monreal , revealed that the president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum , asked him not to accelerate the discussion of the judicial reform that, according to representatives of various chambers of commerce in Mexico, would disrupt and affect the benefits of nearshoring , that is, the relocation of production lines in the country.
In this context, Larry Rubin , president of the American Society of Mexico (AmSoc) , considered that the T-MEC is solid in the face of the reform to the Judicial Branch and will remain regardless of the results , although he noted that the modifications must give certainty to foreign investors, especially with the entry of a new legislature in the Mexican Congress of the Union on September 1.
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