Mexico City, Mexico — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced a temporary pause in relations with the United States and Canadian embassies in Mexico.
The pause in relations is following statements by diplomats Ken Salazar and Graeme C. Clark on the initiative to reform the constitution of the Judiciary, a matter that López Obrador says is the sole responsibility of the people of Mexico.
“They have to learn to respect Mexico’s sovereignty. It’s not just any old thing (…) because we are not going to give them advice there or tell them what is right and what is wrong, so we want them to be respectful, for there to be a reciprocal relationship in terms of respect for sovereignty,” he said Tuesday.
“How can we allow the Ambassador, with all due respect because this is not a matter of dispute, of enmity, but how can we allow him to think that what we are doing is wrong?” he questioned.
At the Tuesday morning press conference, López Obrador said that “in the application of our democracy, in the decisions made by our legal, legitimately constituted government, they must be respectful.”
He clarified that relations with the governments of the United States and Canada continue, but he pointed out that as long as he remains President, they will respect national sovereignty.
“The relationship continues, but hopefully there will be a ratification on their part that they will be respectful of Mexico’s independence, of the sovereignty of our country, but as long as that is not the case and they continue with that policy, there will be a pause with the embassy. (…) Any government has to defend the sovereignty of its people,” he said.
“We will wait for time to pass. If there is no respect, as long as I am here, we will not allow any violation of our sovereignty. (…) I cannot allow our Constitution to be violated,” he added.
President López Obrador did not rule out that Ambassador Salazar’s statements in his criticism of the reform of the Judicial Branch could be the responsibility of the United States Department of State.
He reiterated that everyone has the right to express themselves, however, “it was reckless to demonstrate as they did.”
“We are not going to tell you ‘leave the country’, not that, but you do have to read the Constitution,” he said.
He recalled that the country’s foreign policy is guided by Article 89 of the Constitution which establishes that the President must adhere to the principles of non-intervention, self-determination of peoples and peaceful resolution of disputes.