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Mexico’s president said on Tuesday he would “pause” relations with the US and Canadian embassies after envoys from both countries denounced his controversial plan to reform the judiciary branch, the Associated Press reported.

The plan includes a proposal to fire federal judges, with their replacements being elected instead of appointed, a move analysts said could endanger the independence of the judiciary because it would usher in politically motivated judges.

The change is one of a list introduced by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is serving his last weeks in office.

“The popular direct election of judges is a major risk to the functioning of Mexico’s democracy,” said US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar last week, adding that the move could jeopardize the two neighboring countries’ trade relations.

Meanwhile, Canadian envoy Graeme Clark said it could worry investors.

The US and Mexico are each other’s top trading partners, noted CNN, while all three North American nations are involved in a commercial relationship worth an estimated $1.8 trillion in 2022.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Obrador said he froze relations with both diplomatic missions, though added he would not send the ambassadors home.

“I hope that they promise to be respectful of Mexico’s independence, of our country’s sovereignty. But until that happens, and they continue these policies, it’s on pause,” the president said.

The term “pause” is not part of the formal diplomatic jargon, and Obrador did not specify what it meant either, leading to uncertainty, wrote Mexico’s El Informador.

The president previously used that term when he halted relations with Spain in 2022 amid an energy dispute. Back then, he had said a pause was “not a break in relations,” but “a respectful and fraternal protest” against alleged attacks on Mexican sovereignty.

The judicial overhaul plan has sent protesters onto the streets of Mexico and has seen judges and magistrates going on strike. Nonetheless, a congressional committee approved it on Monday, paving the way for a vote in Congress, where a two-thirds majority is required.