Autor: Redaccion RGN Ingles

This column by Carlos Fernández-Vega originally appeared in Spanish in La Jornada on August 28 2024. With the classic proconsul air of gringo ambassadors, Ken […]

Highlights of this morning’s presidential press conference include: AMLO once again criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice Norma Piña and the national president of the PAN, Marko Cortés, for attempting to violate the independence of the Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF) by trying to influence the allocation of proportional representation seats in Congress, through an appeal filed before the country’s highest court; the President clarified that the relationship with the U.S. and Canadian governments continues. However, he said that relations with the embassies of those countries have been put on hold due to their interference in matters that only concern Mexicans; it is not true that spending on education decreased during López Obrador's administration. In 2024, the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) budget increased 35.1% with respect to 2018 and 5.5% with regard to 2023; a false narrative is making the rounds about an “economic catastrophe” that could result from Morena and its allied parties receiving a 2/3 majority in the Chamber of Deputies and from the approval of the Judicial Reform. The peso continues to be the second most appreciated currency against the dollar; Mexico's credit rating is stable; Mexico's international reserves are at an all-time high of US$22.7 billion; and Mexico is the 12th largest economy in the world.

Highlights of this morning’s presidential press conference include: AMLO denounced Supreme Court Chief Justice Norma Piña’s decision to accept two cases that she should have rejected for being inadmissible. The cases involve two tax debts for more than 35 billion pesos (US$1.78 billion). One of the cases was assigned to a justice who has a history defending wealthy individuals; the President charged that that, without having the authority to do so, the Supreme Court (SCJN) accepted an appeal by the PAN against the allocation of proportional representation seats to Morena and allied parties in the Chamber of Deputies, with which the block will have a 2/3 majority. The Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF) has the final say in electoral matters, not the SCJN, the President noted; President López Obrador said that the warnings issued by rating agencies claiming that the Judicial Reform would bring negative consequences for the national economy should not be taken seriously; AMLO said that the relationship with the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, is good, but is on pause, following the diplomats statements against the Judicial Reform. “They have to learn to respect Mexico's sovereignty,” he said

Highlights of this morning’s presidential press conference include: with 35 days to go before leaving office, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has a 73% approval rating, according to a poll by El Universal; AMLO pointed out that it is up to the Federal Attorney General's Office whether or not to call former president Enrique Peña Nieto to testify in the case of the disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa teacher training college students; the President ruled out entering into a dialogue with U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, on the Judicial Reform and denied that the proposal would affect the USMCA treaty, since it is no longer possible to break with the economic integration that has been consolidated; López Obrador reiterated that the incoming President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, will initiate a universal scholarship program for all students in basic education in public schools.

Highlights of this morning’s presidential press conference include: AMLO described as crude the interventionist attitude of the US government against the judicial reform, expressed through Ambassador Ken Salazar, who declared that the proposal to elect judges and justices is risky and could affect the commercial relationship between the two countries; the President said that judicial system employees who are on strike in opposition to the Judicial Reform, have the right to demonstrate. However, he asked them not to ignore the people of Mexico who have expressed their support for the reform at the ballot box; President López Obrador reported that the Ministry of National Defense’s Plan DN-III and Plan Marina were activated to attend to the areas affected by the flooding in Chalco, State of Mexico; after the Venezuelan Supreme Court declared yesterday that Nicolás Maduro was the winner of the presidential elections, Lopez Obrador indicated that he will wait for the minutes to be released before congratulating the president. “We are respectful of the decisions made in other countries,” he said.

Highlights of this morning’s presidential press conference include: AMLO described as politicking the decision of the rating agencies to reduce their investment recommendation for Mexico due to the Judicial Reform; President López Obrador charged that the PAN mayor of the Álvaro Obregón municipality in Mexico City, Lía Limón, is responsible for the delay in the construction of the Mexico City-Toluca interurban train, “El Insurgente”; after the Federal Attorney General's Office (FGR) reported that it seized the property where drug trafficker Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was kidnapped and where the murder of the former rector of the University of Sinaloa possibly took place, President López Obrador reiterated that the investigation is still open. He said that if the FGR considers it necessary to provide more information, it could summon Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha and former state prosecutor Sara Bruna Bermúdez to testify; the President declared that he does not agree with regulating social networks and identifying each account, because freedoms, including anonymity, must be guaranteed. He said, in relation to the slander campaign against the government through bots that what is important is to explain that these are automated accounts with paid content.

Highlights of this morning’s presidential press conference include: AMLO emphasized that the country is facing a historic moment in its history, because the majority of the people decided to give their full support to the transformation movement; within the framework of the discussion in the National Electoral Institute (INE) on the allocation of proportional representation seats in Congress, President López Obrador called upon the board members to resist calls urging them to reinterpret the Constitution, since this would be a violation of the Magna Carta; the President said he respects the right of the Judicial Branch employees who launched an indefinite work stoppage, to protest. However, he reminded them that the Judicial Reform does not seek to harm their interests, but was designed to eliminate corruption; it is false that with the Judicial Reform, AMLO will impose judges and justices. It is also not true that the Judicial Reform will weaken the independence of the National Electoral Institute. Nor is it the case that the President seeks to “abolish the division of powers” between the three branches of government.