Third judge on Mexico's top court resigns, citing judicial reform

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican Supreme Court Justice Margarita Rios will step down from her post next August, she wrote in a letter to the Senate dated Wednesday.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Rios is the third jurist from Mexico's top court to resign in two days after a constitutional overhaul was enacted last month that requires all judges be elected by popular vote.

The slate of resignations heightens tensions between Mexico's Supreme Court and the ruling bloc, increasing the risk of a constitutional crisis as Congress and the presidency remain at odds with the judiciary over the reform.

CONTEXT

The reform, passed by Congress last month, requires judges to resign ahead of the June election if they do not want to participate in the electoral process and wish to maintain their pension, or risk losing it, prompting an outcry among judicial workers.

KEY QUOTE

The reform's provisions "require us to step down effective next year and to clarify whether we will participate in the judicial election or decline," Rios said in a resignation letter to the Senate.

"I am responding in full to this requirement, though this should not be seen as an implicit endorsement of a framework that remains controversial."

BY THE NUMBERS

The 11-member Supreme Court will see its number reduced to nine as part of the reform. Only three of the current justices have publicly backed the reform.

(Reporting by Kylie Madry, Lizbeth Diaz and Brendan O'Boyle; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Cassandra Garrison and Marguerita Choy)