President Andrés Manuel López Obrador welcomed President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum’s announcement that one of her first governmental decisions will be to place the National Guard under the direction of the Ministry of National Defense. «If it depends on a ministry such as National Defense […] there is a guarantee that the National Guard will not be corrupted,» he said.
President López Obrador rejected the criticism leveled by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo regarding Mexico’s Judicial Reform. He indicated that such remarks constitute interventionism. However, he reiterated that Mexico is now asserting its independence, so that these types of comments on the country’s internal situation have no effect whatsoever.
The President announced that the problem of avocado exports from Michoacán to the United States is about to be resolved. Nevertheless, he regretted the unilateral decision applied by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to suspend avocado imports from Mexico, following an altercation in Michoacán.
President López Obrador revealed that he is preparing a personal report on the Ayotzinapa case, which will be delivered to the parents of the 43 missing teacher training college students. In this document he will expose how the case was «entangled» by various interest groups. He reiterated that there is no evidence that the Army intervened in the disappearance of the youths, otherwise action would have already been taken.
President López Obrador rejected claims by opposition-aligned journalist Carlos Loret de Mola that that he was being investigated and persecuted by the Mexican Government. The President clarified that what may be happening is that the Financial Investigation Unit (UIF) is looking into unusual movements in his bank accounts, since it is the area responsible for detecting crimes such as money laundering.
The head of the Executive Branch congratulated virtual President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum on her birthday. He also stressed that most of the population is very pleased with her victory at the polls. «There is a happiness that is contagious, everywhere,» he said.
