In a move that has sparked diplomatic tensions and opposition street protests, Mexico is set to become the world’s only country to allow voters to choose all judges, at every level, starting next year. The eight justices – including president Norma Pina – declined to stand for election in June 2025, a statement said, adding that one of the resignations would take effect in November and the rest next August.

Former president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who enacted the reforms in September before leaving office, argued the changes were needed to clean up a “rotten” judiciary serving the interests of the political and economic elite.

Critics fear that elected judges could be swayed by politics and vulnerable to pressure from powerful drug cartels that regularly use bribery and intimidation to influence officials.

Sheinbaum, a close ally of Lopez Obrador who became Mexico’s first woman president on October 1, strongly supported the judicial reforms.