Mexico City, Mexico — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the statement by the United States ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, on the reform of the Judicial Branch was “unfortunate and reckless”.
During his Friday morning press conference, López Obrador said Salazar’s comments disrespect national sovereignty.
“A diplomatic note has already been issued, a warning, and I certainly support what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced because we do not accept interference. We do not accept that any representative of foreign governments intervene in matters that only we Mexicans are responsible for resolving and settling. (…) I hope that this does not happen again,” he said.
On Thursday, Salazar “shared his thoughts” on the possible approval of a judicial reform. In his publicly addressed letter, Salazar warned of the risks to the functioning of democracy and the integration of economies due to the popular election of judges.
Salazar went on to say that any judicial reform must ensure that the judiciary is strengthened and not subject to the corruption of politics.
The President reiterated that his government conducts foreign policy based on what is established in Article 89 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, calling the situation “internal issues and matters of full national sovereignty”.
“Mexico is an independent and sovereign country. We are in favor of non-intervention, self-determination of peoples, peaceful resolution of disputes and cooperation for development,” he said.
“Therefore, the statement by the ambassador of the United States of America expressing a position on this issue, which is strictly internal to the Mexican State, represents an unacceptable act of interference, contravenes the sovereignty of the United Mexican States and does not reflect the degree of mutual respect that characterizes the relations between our governments,” the Government of Mexico wrote in a diplomatic note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Embassy of the United States.
López Obrador said that the United States has shown understanding of Mexico’s independence and sovereignty, but he noted that “lately there have been acts of disrespect for sovereignty, “such as the U.S. embassy financing the opposition organization Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity .
“The United States has applied an interventionist policy throughout the Americas since they defined the Monroe Doctrine and maintained that ‘America is for the Americans’, understanding that America is the United States of America, not the rest of the American continent. So they decided on the policies in the countries of the continent: they appointed and removed presidents at will, invaded countries, created new countries, protectorates,” he added.