Judicial Blockade Halts Reform Debate

Amid judicial reform tensions, workers block San Lázaro to halt discussions. Strikes and protests escalate across Mexico as groups and unions take a stand for or against the reform.

Primary Article:

Hundreds of Workers of the Judicial Branch Block Access to San Lázaro to Prevent Judicial Reform Discussion

At least 700 workers from the Judicial Branch of the Federation (PJF), who have been camping outside the Federal Palace of Justice in San Lázaro since August 21, 2024, blocked various entrances to the Chamber of Deputies in the Congress of the Union from 4:40 AM on September 3, 2024. Their aim? To prevent lawmakers from entering and discussing judicial reform.

The blockade was also extended to adjacent roads with cars, as more people joined the protest. Authorities from the Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC), under the government of Mexico City, were present in the area. According to the Vial Orientation Center of the same institution, traffic was notably interrupted on Emiliano Zapata, near Eduardo Molina Avenue.

At the blocked entrances, PJF workers met with their representatives, who advised them not to fall for provocations. Human chains were observed in different areas, while surrounding roads were completely closed.

Patricia Aguayo Bernal, Secretary of the Tenth Collegiate Court on Labor Matters and spokesperson for the PJF base workers, stated they were in resistance and would remain as long as necessary. She emphasized that they were ordinary citizens demanding to be heard and questioned the rush to discuss the judicial reform.

“Why such urgency? Why do they refuse to listen to us, to the international community, to the students who came with their petitions and collected signatures during the Sunday march on September 1, 2024?” Aguayo Bernal questioned.

Ricardo Monreal Ávila, President of the Political Coordination Board (JUCOPO) of San Lázaro, asked lawmakers from Morena and its allied parties, the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM) and the Labor Party (PT), not to provoke PJF workers or try to forcibly enter the Chamber of Deputies.

Monreal Ávila emphasized, in a video posted on social media, that the judicial reform would indeed be discussed in alternate venues.

On September 2, 2024, a group of students went to the Chamber of Deputies to deliver a petition with over 700 signatures, demanding changes to the judicial reform and seeking dialogue with lawmakers. The petition, titled “Right of Petition to the Congress of the Union,” amassed signatures collected during the September 1st march organized by the group “Students and Young People in Defense of the Judiciary.”

In contrast, the group “Youth for Reform, Youth for Justice” issued a statement supporting the constitutional changes and announced mobilizations in all 32 states.

Secondary Article:

More Protests and Strikes Emerge Across Mexico Amid Judicial Reform Controversy

As the controversy surrounding the judicial reform continues, various groups and unions across Mexico are mobilizing in protest. On September 2, 2024, workers from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) joined a strike to oppose the judicial reform, rejecting a request from Senate President Martí Batres to end the protests.

In addition, opposition party PAN called on its members to remain united in preventing the judicial reform from passing through the Senate. Meanwhile, university councilors from 15 states accused judges of illegal interference in the legislative process and of spreading misinformation to sabotage the reform’s approval in Congress.

On a broader scope, the group “United Youth for Justice” declared their support for the reform, planning protests nationwide to advocate for the constitutional changes.

These developments underscore the growing tension surrounding the judicial reform and the increasing mobilization of civil society and political actors on both sides of the debate.


Stay tuned with TJGringo.com for more updates on this evolving story.