President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Photo: Government of Mexico.
By José Jarquín – Apr 27, 2024
In the speech that the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, gave after his electoral victory on July 1, 2018, he made a brief mention about the type of diplomatic relationship he would maintain with the United States.
“With the government of the United States of America we will seek a relationship of friendship and cooperation for development, always based on mutual respect,” he said almost at the end of that speech. Since then, on repeated occasions, the president of Mexico has spoken out against attempts of interference by the US government and has even expressed his position to both former President Donald Trump and the current President Joe Biden.
On December 14, 2020, for example, López Obrador sent a congratulatory letter to Biden on his election as the new US president. “We are certain that with you in the presidency of the United States it will be possible to continue applying the basic principles of foreign policy established in our Constitution, especially that of non-intervention and self-determination of peoples,” the Mexican president wrote in his letter.
The fact that AMLO touched on the subject of non-intervention in the letter and that he constantly refers to the US attitude of interference is “an atypical posture,” said Juan Daniel Garay Saldaña, professor of Mexico-United States Studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), in an interview with Sputnik.
“It is not a traditional position that presidents [of Mexico] have had in their foreign policy towards the United States,” he explained. “It is something we have not seen before. There have been other expressions, but in an isolated manner, and it definitely calls our attention that, in his speech, the president has always expressed this position against interference, against intervention of the United States.”
The most recent case occurred when President López Obrador criticized the US government for the Annual Human Rights Report issued on April 22 by the US State Department, in which accusations were made on the tensions between the Mexican government and the Mexican judicial system, and suspensions of investigations and trials against people who allegedly committed homicides, kidnappings or extortions.
Responding to these allegations, AMLO commented during his morning conference on April 23, “We do not issue a letter of good conduct because it is not our job, but the US is stuck with the mania of 200 years ago, since the Monroe Doctrine. Hopefully that will change because it does not help them, they are stuck in their foreign policy administration.”
The following day, López Obrador even accused the report of violating international law. The US State Department spokesperson, of course, denied any irregularity whatsoever.
President of Mexico Demands Respect Following US Human Rights Report
From words to deeds
The Mexican president’s position has not remained limited to words. In January 2021, a series of measures to increase restrictions on foreign agents in the country went into effect.
For example, any type of immunity for elements of foreign institutions such as the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was withdrawn.
“This has limited the actions of these organizations, which previously had no brake, no limit, and now the president stated that they must be regulated under certain rules to prevent them from acting with open interference,” Garay Saldaña commented.
Another step taken by the current government was the reformulation of the Mérida Initiative, a security cooperation program created by former US President George W Bush with his then Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderón.
The new pact reached by AMLO was named the Bicentennial Understanding and, unlike its predecessor, it proposed a more comprehensive approach to combating arms and drug trafficking, instead of focusing on fighting criminal gangs.
“This was done precisely at the request of President López Obrador, who imposed certain conditions for the agreement to continue, especially considering preventive aspects instead of the frontal fight against drug trafficking,” the specialist explained.
Despite everything, good relations
The position that President López Obrador has maintained throughout his administration has not, however, prevented him from maintaining a good relationship with the US government.
“The president, regardless of these demands before the United States, these manifestations that he has made, does not mean that he has quarreled with the United States,” considered Garay Saldaña. “The relationship continues, and this has not prevented the president from making demands. That is to say, perhaps the agreements continue in substance, but the forms have been modified.”
The consideration is not minor, given that Mexico is one of the main trade partners of the United States, in addition to being key to attending the migratory flows that try to reach the US.
Given this scenario, Garay Saldaña points out that the next government of Mexico will have the challenge of marking the limits with the US government while fostering a harmonious relationship. This assumes special importance amid a possible return of Donald Trump to the White House.
(Sputnik)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
