The reform to the Judicial Branch promoted by the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a constitutional amendment that will be approved in the coming days, worries foreign investors who fear that judges will become dependent on voters or political considerations instead of the law, according to the newspaper The Wall Street Journal.
Company officials and advisers estimate that foreign firms are holding back $35 billion in investment projects in sectors ranging from information technology and auto manufacturing to gas pipelines and industrial infrastructure because of uncertainty surrounding reform and the U.S. election.
According to the WSJAt stake are the private investments that Mexico needs to meet the growing demand for electricity for industrial use. The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation blocked an initiative that modified rules for the electricity sector in an alleged violation of the T-MEC, but some investors fear that an elected court will end up approving them.
Another factor that makes foreign companies concerned about working in Mexico is a possible victory by Donald Trump in the US presidential elections, who seeks to impose tariffs of 60 percent on China and 10 percent on the rest of the countries.