[Source.](https://www.oann.com/newsroom/mexico-pauses-embassy-relations-with-u-s-canada-after-ambassadors-criticize-judicial-reform-supported-by-mexicos-president/) > President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico announced on Tuesday that his country will halt official contacts with U.S. and Canadian embassies, after their representatives had expressed disapproval of a judicial reform proposal that the Mexican president supports. >> “There is a pause,” Lopez Obrador said in a press conference, referencing the relationship between the United States and Canada. > The president is advocating for a reform that would let Mexican citizens choose judges, including the justices of the Supreme Court. The plan was endorsed late on Monday by a committee in the lower chamber of the Mexican Congress, clearing the way for its approval upon the inauguration of the newly elected Congress in September. > Critics say that the reform will stifle judges’ careers, tilt power in favor of the executive branch, and increase the vulnerability of the courts to criminal influence. Meanwhile, proponents claim that the reform will “strengthen democracy” and help restore a system that they claim does not serve the public interest.