This comes after new president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office this month, vowed to slash his own salary to tackle inequality in the country.

The court said the new law, which was announced last month, would be frozen until the tribunal has made a definite ruling on the legislation.

The law demands that no public servant can earn more than the president.

Lopez Obrador said he would push through a number of austerity measures including cutting his own salary to 40% of what his predecessor earned, taking his pay to 108,000 pesos ($5,331.36) per month, Reuters reported.

However, opposition senators criticised the pay cut law highlighting it violated the rights of public servants.

The court said in a statement after granting the suspension that the law could not be applied until a definitive ruling had been made.

This may complicate the 2019 budget, which is due to be presented on 15 December.

The ruling National Regeneration Movement party has said it has the right to set pay levels in the budget.

Mario Delgado, lower house leader, said: “We will put the cap on the president’s salary, and go downward from there for everyone.”

The president won a landslide victory in July, pledging he would end the days of “a rich government with a poor population”.