MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday responded “yes” when asked in a morning press conference whether he thought the United States was using its ambassador to interfere in domestic affairs.
Last Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar labeled a judicial reform that would see judges elected by popular vote a threat to Mexican democracy by exposing its judiciary to the influence of organized crime, and said it put the U.S.-Mexico trade relationship at risk.
Lopez Obrador had last week blasted the critique as “interventionist.”
On Monday, Lopez Obrador emphasized the need to respect nations’ independent sovereignties while assuring that relations remain friendly with Salazar and U.S. President Joe Biden.
Nothing “rational” could cause a break in U.S.-Mexican trade relations, Lopez Obrador said.
The United States and Mexico are each other’s top trading partners, and the U.S. has increasingly been opening factories in the neighboring country as it seeks to move its supply chains from China to closer home.
(Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Cassandra Garrison)
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