“We are going to wait until all the legal issues are resolved,”
AMLO said from Tabasco at a press conference.
TABASCO Mexico (Times Media Mexico) – Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador avoided commenting on the U.S. presidential election results, in which Democrat Joe Biden-Kamala Harris is the virtual winner.
“We are going to wait for all the legal issues to be resolved. We don’t want to be reckless, we don’t want to act lightly, and we want to be respectful of the self-determination of peoples and respectful of the rights of others,” he said from Villahermosa, Tabasco in line with what Donald Trump, who has challenged the results on several points, has said.
López Obrador justified his position with the argument of respect for peoples’ self-determination and prudence, for which – he reiterated – he will wait for the official end of the U.S. electoral process.
“President Trump has been very respectful of us, and we have reached very good agreements. And we thank him because he has not been interfering and has respected us… I just can’t say, ‘I congratulate one candidate, or I congratulate the other’ because I want to wait until the electoral process is over,” he said.
Although he did not consider Trump or Biden to be the winner, the Mexican president mentioned his presidential candidate experience in 2006. AMLO mentioned how PAN candidate Felipe Calderon “stole” the election from him and leaders from other countries congratulated him before the electoral process was completely closed. “When they (PAN) stole the presidency from us and the votes were still not counted, and some foreign governments were already recognizing those who declared themselves the winners. There was not yet a legal count, and the president of Spain, at that time Zapatero, was already congratulating Calderon … an imprudence,” he condemned.
AMLO’s refusal to recognize Biden, a “diplomatic failure”: US Congressman
Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro responded to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s refusal to congratulate Democrat Joe Biden until “the legal issues” of the U.S. presidents are resolved.
“This represents an impressive diplomatic failure by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, at a time when the incoming Biden administration is seeking to usher in a new era of friendship and cooperation with Mexico”.
This represents a stunning diplomatic failure by Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a time when the incoming Biden Administration is looking to usher in a new era of friendship and cooperation with Mexico. https://t.co/lIHLqfpZbu
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) November 8, 2020
Castro, representative for Texas, reacted that way after López Obrador thanked Trump for how “respectful” he has been to Mexico.
Democratic Representative Chuy Garcia also reacted to AMLO’s remarks: “The American voters have spoken and Joe Biden is our President-Elect. He won fairly and honestly,” he said on Twitter.
