Mexican Senate OKs Supreme Court justice’s resignation

By Sierra Juarez

TEXAS (AA) - Mexico’s Senate approved the resignation of one of the country’s Supreme Court justices Tuesday as allegations arose about his possible involvement in corruption.

Eduardo Medina Mora was only four years into his 15-year term.

The Supreme Court voted 111-3 in support of approving the resignation, with five Senate members absent. The Mexican constitution mandates that the Senate has to vote on the resignation of a justice and that quitting the position is only allowed in grave cases.

Medina Mora resigned on Oct. 3 after local media reported that the U.K. and the U.S. were investigating him for his bank transfers to accounts in the two countries.

The amount of money he allegedly transferred between 2013 and 2017 was reportedly four times more than his salary. El Universal reported that he transferred about $5.2 million to the foreign accounts. The justice has denied the corruption accusations.

Last week, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also accepted his resignation, saying Medina Mora did not offer him exact details about why he was stepping down.

The president now needs to replace Medina Mora, who was one of the country’s 11 Supreme Court justices.

Obrador, who has promised to combat corruption during his presidency, said he would make sure to replace the justice with someone honest. This will be the third justice that the president’s Morena party has chosen on the high court.