The United States ambassador, Ken Salazar, insisted on Wednesday, September 4, that there are concerns in his country about judicial reform and that it could cause a lot of damage to the bilateral relationship while rejecting that talking about this reform is an intrusion into Mexican sovereignty.
In his first press conference after he openly expressed his opinion against the judicial reform on August 22, statements that were described as a crude interventionist attitude by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who then decreed a pause in his government’s relations with the US embassy, Salazar expressed that he does not understand why his statements have been so controversial and declared that despite the alleged “pause” he continues to work with the Mexican government.
In his official residence in Mexico City, he expressed his respect for the Mexican president and the president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum, as well as for national sovereignty, and pointed out that even though Mexico and the United States have a complicated history and relationship, both nations are “a family”.
“The judicial reform issue is the decision of the Mexican government and we respect Mexico’s sovereignty”, he emphasized before pointing out that he thinks that changes are needed to strengthen the Mexican judiciary and that he has concerns about the reform.
“Point number two is that I agree that reforms must be made to strengthen the Court. Point three, where there has been so much debate that I don’t understand, is that if it is not done in the best way, it can cause a lot of damage to the US-Mexico relationship”, Ambassador Ken Salazar continued.
“I am not saying this just as an ambassador, I am saying it because of all the concerns that I am receiving from people who want the best for Mexico’s relationship with the United States,” stated Salazar, who offered the press a tour of his residence, where he recounted episodes of his political career and stated that a dream he shares with President Joe Biden is that North America could become an exemplary economic power in the world and that together, Mexico, Canada, and the United States could form the most powerful economic block in the world.
TYT Newsroom
