Published 12:10 IST, November 8th 2020
Mexican President refrains from wishing Joe Biden, says 'let all legal issues be resolved'
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would wait until all legal battles are resolved before congratulating US President-elect Joe Biden
- World News
- 2 min read
While most world leaders extended their heartiest congratulations to the United States President-elect Joe Biden, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would wait until all legal battles are resolved. Obrador, while talking to reporters on Saturday, November 7, said that he wants to wait because he enjoys a "good relationship" with the two candidates, adding that both of them have been very respectful to his country.
The Associated Press and other major media outlets have called the US presidential election race in favour of Joe Biden after last night the Democratic Party candidate took a massive lead against incumbent Donald Trump in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Convention (RNC) have filled a series of lawsuits in several states challenging the counting of late-arriving ballots and are refusing to concede defeat.
Trump & Mexico
Donald Trump has always maintained a tough stance when it comes to his policies concerning Mexico. During his election campaign in 2016, he stirred controversy as he referred to illegal migrants coming into the United States from Mexico as "rapists" and "criminals". Trump also vowed to build a wall across the southern border to stop illegal migrants from the South, who try to sneak into his country via Mexico.
Trump faced a lot of criticism from both within his country and the international community after he launched the 'zero tolerance" policy in 2018, that saw families who crossed into the United States illegally being separated. Most of the migrants affected by the deterrence policy are Mexicans. Under Trump's presidency, the United States re-negotiated the free trade agreement called NAFTA with Canada and Mexico, which the Republican leader had alleged was unfair to the American people because of certain provisions.
But Obrador has maintained a healthy relationship with Trump's American despite all these actions by the latter's administration. Obrador even visited the United States as part of his first foreign trip since taking the office in 2018.
Updated 12:10 IST, November 8th 2020