By Kate Linthicum for the LA Times
Three weeks from the end of his presidency, Andrés Manuel López Obrador could be taking victory laps.
The leftist leader of Mexico has slashed poverty and tripled the minimum wage. He boasts an approval rating of 73% — practically unheard of for an outgoing president — and on Oct. 1 will be succeeded by a loyal protege who has vowed to continue his signature policies.
Morena, the political party that López Obrador officially incorporated just a decade ago, now controls both chambers of Congress and a majority of the country’s 32 states.
But instead of basking in his successes, López Obrador has picked a fight.
He’s tipped the country into turmoil by pushing a controversial constitutional change that would dramatically overhaul Mexico’s justice system by making every judge in the country — including members of the Supreme Court — stand for election.
The business community has slammed López Obrador’s plan, Mexico’s top trading partners, and the nation’s legal professionals, including thousands of judges and other court employees who have been on strike for weeks in protest.
The peso has plunged to its lowest rate against the dollar in nearly two years, and marchers have filled the streets daily, saying the president’s plan would eliminate crucial democratic checks and balances, facilitate corruption and stack the courts with judges loyal to the ruling party.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY Kate Linthicum IN THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
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