MEXICAN court employees said on Wednesday that they will go on strike from Thursday over proposed funding cuts that threaten an already creaky court system.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (Amlo) has proposed cutting funds for the judicial branch, arguing that judges make too much money and often protect criminals.

The court employees’ union denied that its members, which include typists and bailiffs, are overpaid and said the cuts would have a major impact on them.

Mexican courts have never been known for their speed or efficiency. 

One court recently handed down sentences against five soldiers in the 2010 killing of two university students after legal proceedings that lasted almost 13 years.

Despite some reforms, such multiyear trials are not uncommon in Mexico. 

That has contributed to the controversy surrounding Amlo’s push to require more suspects to stay in jail pending trials that may last years, even if they end in acquittal.

Nor is it unusual for the Mexican president to quarrel with other branches of government, especially the judiciary.

Amlo regularly criticises judges by name for court rulings he does not like, accusing them of corruption or political bias. 

The president has also proposed reforming the constitution to turn top court positions into elected roles.