President defends historic judicial vote

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum hit back at criticism of her country’s unprecedented election of judges on Monday, after most voters skipped a ballot that her opponents branded a farce.

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Sunday's election followed highly contentious reforms making Mexico the only country in the world to let voters select all of their judges, including Supreme Court justices.

As officials tallied votes, Ms Sheinbaum hailed the “complete success” of an exercise she said was needed to clean up a judiciary mired in corruption.

The National Electoral Institute said around 13% of eligible voters took part in a poll that critics said would erode democratic checks and balances and leave judges more vulnerable to criminal influence.

Ms Sheinbaum told Mexicans that they had “nothing to fear”.

“Mexico is a free, democratic country — that won't change. Nothing will change, except access to justice,” she said at her daily news conference.

Ms Sheinbaum pushed back at claims “that we’re heading towards authoritarianism and that the president will have a lot of power because she'll control the judiciary”.