‘There’s presently extra democracy in Mexico than in the USA,’ Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has rebuked an announcement from Washington that appeared to criticise an electoral reform legislation in his nation, accusing the USA of meddling within the affairs of its neighbour.
Lopez Obrador mentioned on Tuesday the US at all times interferes “in issues that don’t concern” it.
A day earlier, the US State Division weighed in on a legislation that may reduce the finances for Mexico’s impartial electoral company. Hundreds had gathered in Mexico Metropolis on Sunday to reject the laws, saying it erodes democracy and weakens election integrity.
Washington didn’t explicitly criticise the measure however mentioned it helps “impartial, well-resourced electoral establishments that strengthen democratic processes and the rule of legislation”.
The US remarks irked Lopez Obrador, who had defended the electoral reform legislation as a push to chop prices for taxpayers. After narrowly dropping his first presidential bid in 2006, Lopez Obrador made allegations of voting fraud, and he has been crucial of Mexico’s electoral company since then.
“There’s presently extra democracy in Mexico than in the USA,” he mentioned on Tuesday.
Mexican presidents are constitutionally restricted to at least one six-year time period in workplace, so Lopez Obrador is not going to search reelection in subsequent yr’s presidential vote, although his left-wing Morena social gathering is taken into account among the many front-runners.
The US State Division had additionally harassed on Monday the significance of “respect for judicial independence” in a “wholesome democracy”. Lopez Obrador has beforehand criticised Mexico’s judiciary, driving accusations by opposition members that he’s threatening the nation’s court docket system.
“In the present day, in Mexico, we see a fantastic debate on electoral reforms on the independence of electoral and judicial establishments that illustrates Mexico’s vibrant democracy,” the State Division mentioned on Monday. “We respect Mexico’s sovereignty.”
Later within the day, State Division spokesperson Ned Value mentioned the US views Mexico as an “equal associate”, including that Secretary of State Antony Blinken is “very targeted on the erosion of democracy around the globe”.
The Mexican president mentioned on Tuesday that, as an alternative of commenting on Mexico, Washington ought to “cope with what’s taking place in Peru”.
He denounced what he referred to as US assist for “the coup plotters who trampled on freedoms and democracy in that nation”.
Lopez Obrador has been a vocal supporter of Peru’s former left-wing President Pedro Castillo, who was faraway from workplace by legislators late final yr and changed by his then-vice president, Dina Boluarte, after he tried to dissolve Congress.
Boluarte — who confronted lethal protests towards her authorities previously weeks — has accused Lopez Obrador of “unacceptable” interference in her nation’s affairs after he questioned the legitimacy of her authorities.
In December, Washington recognised and pledged to work with Boluarte’s authorities.
“America appears ahead to working carefully with President Boluarte on shared objectives and values associated to democracy, human rights, safety, anti-corruption and financial prosperity,” the State Division mentioned after a telephone name between Blinken and the Peruvian president final yr.