(Bloomberg) -- A last-minute replacement of an opposition Mexican senator and allegations that another had been arrested fueled suspicion that the ruling party was moving behind the scenes to ensure it had the votes to pass President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s controversial judicial overhaul.
On Tuesday, hours before the vote was supposed to begin, Senator Miguel Angel Yunes Marquez — who media outlet had indicated could change his vote against the proposal — sent a letter to his fellow congressmen saying that because of “health problems” he could not perform his job.
Another senator, Daniel Barreda of the Movimiento Ciudadano party, could switch to his vote to support the ruling party’s coalition by becoming a member of the Green Party, stated journalist Joaquin Lopez-Doriga in a post on X.
The news fueled reports that the Morena party had put extra pressure on opposition lawmakers in order to obtain the 86 votes of a total of 128 senators needed to make the changes to the constitution. The reform would require the Supreme Court and other judges be elected by popular vote.
Lawmakers in the Senate approved Yunes Marquez’s bid to have his father, his official replacement, take his place. The fill-in senator for the PAN opposition party declined to say what his opinion was about the reform, but insisted in a speech that every person should have a “free” vote.
The coordinator of the Movimiento Ciudadano party in the Senate on Tuesday alleged that Barreda’s father was arrested, a charge that was denied by the Morena coordinator in the Senate, former Interior Minister Adan Augusto Lopez
Morena’s ruling coalition had originally proposed to present the latest bill to lawmakers on Tuesday, with the intention of starting the vote on the same day. They warned that the polemic discussion could carry on into the early hours of Wednesday.
The peso was down 1% as of 4:30 p.m. New York ahead of the vote, trading above the 20-per-dollar level. Mexico’s currency was the second-worst performer on the day among major currencies, behind only the Brazilian real.
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