Mexico City/Prensa Latina
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Tuesday that relations with the diplomatic missions of the United States and Canada here are on hold, following statements considered disrespectful by both ambassadors.
“Pausing means that we are going to take our time,” the president said during his regular press conference, referring to comments made last week by U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar regarding the judicial reform proposal promoted by the executive branch.
“Hopefully, the State Department – because it is not the State Department either –… what a coincidence that at the same time that they are speaking out in Mexico through the embassy, the Canadians are doing so, which is also embarrassing, with all due respect to the Canadian government. It seems like an associated state. Together,” he said.
“How can we allow him (Salazar) to think that what we are doing is wrong?” said the president, considering that “they would like to have influence in matters that only concern Mexicans.”
The relationship continues with both nations, but hopefully there will be a ratification on their part that they will be respectful of the independence of Mexico, of the sovereignty of our country, he emphasized.
“We are not going to give them advice there, or tell them what is right and what is wrong. We want them to be respectful, and for there to be a reciprocal relationship in terms of respect for sovereignty,” he stressed.
Salazar said last Thursday that the reform of the judicial branch being analyzed in Congress represents risks for Mexican democracy and trade integration between both nations; however, authorities and experts say that the initiative seeks to end corruption in that area.
In citing the reasons for the proposal, López Obrador has repeatedly pointed out that the judiciary is being held hostage and at the service of a rapacious minority, dominated by organized crime and white-collar crime.
In this context, the reform aims to put an end to the influence peddling that permeates this autonomous power and that has made possible the release of criminals and other irregularities, a complaint that most citizens agree with, according to surveys.
The initiative provides for an extraordinary process in 2025 to elect ministers, magistrates and judges by popular vote, a mechanism that will “dismantle the judicial aristocracy,” according to legislators during a debate the day before in the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, which approved the proposal.
Among other elements, the reform also proposes the creation of a Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal as an authority independent of the Supreme Court, and establishes that the remuneration of public servants of that power cannot be greater than that of the President of the Republic.
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