Attorney General Raul Cervantes speaks during a formal apology to three indigenous women who were wrongfully jailed for years, in Mexico City, Mexico February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s Attorney General Raul Cervantes said on Monday that he presented President Enrique Pena Nieto with his resignation, as an intense political debate brews over the implementation of a new, autonomous anti-corruption system to replace his office.

“In the coming days the Lower House (of Congress) will be discussing new initiatives related to the attorney general’s office and in order to not further delay the laws that Mexico needs I’ve decided to send Enrique Pena Nieto and the Senate my irrevocable resignation,” Cervantes tweeted.

Opposition lawmakers have objected to allowing Cervantes to become the head of the new prosecutor general’s office, a figure who will serve a nine-year term in a move away from the current system where the president nominates the attorney general.