Latino Democrats tell Mexican president to get with the program and back Biden
MEXICO CITY - The Mexican president’s hesitation over congratulating Joe Biden on his US presidential election win drew flack from several Latino Democratic lawmakers, warning it risked souring a restart to bilateral ties after years of tension under Donald Trump.
In an apparent bid to avoid friction with Trump, who has often used Mexico as a veritable political piñata, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Saturday that he was going to wait until “all the legal matters have been resolved” before commenting on the results of the U.S. election. Democratic Texas lawmaker Joaquin Castro, head of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee’s oversight subcommittee, took to Twitter to categorize the move as “a stunning diplomatic failure.”
Lopez Obrador’s decision comes “at a time when the incoming Biden administration is looking to usher in a new era of friendship and cooperation with Mexico,” said Castro, who was a member of President Barack Obama’s cabinet. A Biden presidency is seen as a chance to reset ties under stress since Trump made his first White House bid, tarring Mexican migrants as rapists and gunrunners and vowing to keep them out with a border wall. Castro was one of at least a half dozen Democratic lawmakers who criticized the Mexican president, including Arizona state senator Martin Quezada who said “this is beyond disappointing.” Mexico’s foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard said the government had been in touch with Biden’s and Trump’s teams in recent hours and would remain in contact in the coming days.
“Whether it’s keeping the (relationship) with Trump or establishing it with Biden, who has known President Lopez Obrador since 2012, the objective will be to have the best possible relationship,” Ebrard was quoted as saying by local newspaper Reforma. Ebrard said Mexico’s ties to the United States were strategic, and that Lopez Obrador had demonstrated since taking office how seriously he took the bilateral relationship. Lopez Obrador has needed to walk a fine line with Trump, whose term is scheduled to end on Jan. 20. Under Trump’s administration, Mexico has had to navigate abrupt demands to stem illegal migration or face trade tariffs.
(Reuters)