Sheinbaum’s latest bill worries the rich

Globally renowned, Mexico’s amparo reform tilts power toward the State—and against tax evaders.

A deep change in the balance of power is happening in Mexico’s legal system. The first big shift came with the institution of a judiciary that is directly elected by the people, handing all the courts, in this first round of polling, to pro-government judges.

That can change if and when the current ruling coalition, led by the Morena party, loses popularity and is unable to mobilise voters in the direction of its preferred judges.

A more definitive change is afoot though. On September 15th, president Claudia Sheinbaum sent a bill to Congress proposing the reform of a long-standing system of appeals created to give citizens a tool to protect their human rights against laws or rulings passed by those in power. It is called an amparo, and it is a widely used legal tool in Mexico, from people getting exemptions to legally grow weed for their own consumption to providing family members of the victims of forced disappearances with a tool to push the State find them.

The UN has celebrated the Mexican amparo as a crucial way for citizens to defend their rights, and urged other countries to adopt it.

The bill will almost certainly pass. Congress is controlled by Morena and the freshly elected Supreme Court that will oversee any constitutional challenges is also largely pro-government.

What is left is for Mexicans to understand what the reform changes, and what they may be gaining or losing from it.