Last month, the Mexican Congress passed, and a majority of states approved, then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s initiative to elect all judges in the country.

López Obrador and his allies, including his successor Claudia Sheinbaum, have said the radical change would help get rid of corruption in the judicial system. But critics say courts will become less independent and more subject to political forces.

The resignations came before the lower house of Congress late Wednesday passed another constitutional amendment that would shield constitutional changes such as judicial overhauls from legal challenges. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear such a case in the coming days.

The amendment was passed with 343 votes in favor and 129 against. The Senate had previously passed the bill.

Business sectors in particular had expressed concerns that the change would weaken the rule of law. Mexican Employers Association Coparmex said in a statement before the vote that the initiative “puts at risk the basic guarantees that have protected citizens for decades.”

López Obrador has clashed with the courts throughout his six-year term, and they have repeatedly struck down some of his initiatives. He railed against the judges in his daily morning press briefings, and his protégé, Sheinbaum, continued in similar fashion.

Sheinbaum joked Tuesday that Supreme Court justices could lose their pensions if they don’t resign before judicial nominations end in November. “That’s a lot of money,” he said.