Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced he was suspending diplomatic ties with the U.S. and Canadian embassies in Mexico in response to the letters and statements. He said diplomats from both countries had expressed opposition to proposed judicial reforms that would call for annual open elections for all federal judges.
“They must learn to respect Mexican sovereignty,” Lopez Obrador said at a morning press conference. He said he had no plans to expel them, only suspend ties until they learned not to interfere with the Mexican government.
President Lopez Obrador suspends government-to-government relations, while Ambassador Ken Salazar declares ties with the Reformed Judiciary and suspends government-to-government relations. Pondria en… pic.twitter.com/Oj7o2DVZoT
— Martha Isabel Alvarado (@MarthaIsabelRex) August 27, 2024
The move comes just days after U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar and Canadian Ambassador Graham Clark argued that an independent judiciary is a vital part of democracy and that electing judges also opens the door to corruption and cartel influence. Salazar noted in the letter that he was a lawyer for over 25 years before becoming a diplomat and that as a politician and diplomat he had seen firsthand how important an independent judiciary is, according to Breitbart Texas.
The issue at hand is the judicial reform pushed by AMLO and his party, which would implement annual elections for federal judges and several other measures that academics say would tie the hands of an independent judiciary. Political opponents argue that the judicial reform is a step towards Lopez Obrador and his party taking complete control of the three branches of government. The move has faced fierce resistance from most of the sitting judges, who have gone on strike. However, Lopez Obrador's MORENA party is pushing for the measure.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist at Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas' Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. Twitter and FacebookContact details: email address.
Brandon Darby is Managing Director and Editor in Chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas' Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and other senior Breitbart executives. Twitter and FacebookContact details: email address.
