Mexico-US: Clear Rules

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum advised that clear rules have now been established for the U.S Embassy in Mexico and Ambassador Ken Salazar with regard to proper conduct at events. In her morning press conference, the president said that Foreign Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente notified the U.S. ambassador that, among other things, he will no longer be able to schedule meetings directly with the secretaries of state: He will be required to channel his requests through the Ministry of Foreign Relations.

The president also allayed concerns about trade relations, as well as future revision of the treaty on the issue that also includes Canada, the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. She reiterated that she felt that the U.S. presidential candidates are making remarks in the context of the election. When the next U.S. president is elected, it will be possible to engage in dialogue free of the stridency typical of campaigns. We should welcome the fact President Sheinbaum didn’t let the first 10 days of her administration pass before taking Ambassador Salazar to task. Salazar has been involved for several weeks in a series of verbal attacks, unacceptable in the treatment of a sovereign nation.

We should remember that the ambassador has been deeply involved in political skirmishes and intervention by corporate interests on both sides of the border. This interference is intended to slow the constitutional reform that the new president and her predecessor have been promoting to clean up the judiciary, which is currently drowning in corruption, nepotism, influence peddling, arbitrariness, partisanship and collusion with criminals.

Considering the prominent role he plays, Ambassador Salazar has shown little tact in performing his duties. Moreover, he appears to speak for big money rather than for the American people. Such confusion about his role also influences other U.S. officials and legislators. In this sense, you can read the federal government’s guidelines as a general notice that words or deeds that attempt to interfere with Mexican self-determination will not be tolerated. Those who are considering interference as an imperial prerogative to which the rest of the world must capitulate would do well to pay attention to this warning.

We hope that foreign diplomats posted in Mexico; the governments they represent; the financial and business elites; the multilateral organizations and other relevant stakeholders, such as the credit rating agencies, will get the message and consequently stop their unlawful and illegitimate attempts to interfere in the country’s sovereign decisions. If this does not happen, the authorities will have to call a halt and redirect them toward a sense of respect and observance of the laws.