The response that the federal government gave the European Parliament, following calling on Mexico to address the issue of the murders of journalists, is a comedy of errors, says Porfirio Muñoz Ledo.
The former ambassador of Mexico to the European Union (2001-2004) points out that the language used by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador towards MEPs is incomprehensible.
“His angry, insulting, confused and disproportionate response is not in accordance with the authority of a head of state.
“Perhaps it is due to the fatigue of hard work and the anxiety of winning the revocation of the mandate, which have led him to this,” says Muñoz Ledo.
It also highlights that the nature of the agreement that Mexico has with the European Union has scope for both parties to talk regarding the issues that occur in each region.
“Mexico opted for an in-depth relationship with Europe, for obvious reasons of political and economic demands. The agreement has a political part; the agreement is at various levels and in different instances.
“To sign it, Europe demanded the democratic clause, which means that the countries with which it celebrates its treaties must protect, must ensure respect for human rights. That also applies to the countries entering the European Union, which were essentially Eastern European countries. Issues of human rights, justice, administrative standards were demanded and requested, ”he indicates.
The man, with a long political career in Mexico, remembers that as a Senator of the Republic he argued with the Commissioner for Political Affairs of the European Union.
“We demand reciprocity. It means that if there is a criticism of the Parliament —which is the only one that expresses this type of thing, because neither the commissioners nor the executive authorities—, then the reciprocity is that Mexico might perfectly blame the countries of the European Union for other violations to human rights. For example, the migratory issue, that there is a lot of material to cut from, ”he points out.
Porfirio Muñoz Ledo considers that one of Mexico’s problems is that they do not have the knowledge or the “guts” to respond, in this case, to the European Parliament.
“First the issue should have been clarified. The federal government said they are not crimes [los cometidos contra periodistas] of State, due to consequences inherited from previous governments, is a phenomenon that must be analyzed.
“That should have been explained by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a bulletin that should have been sent to the High Representative of the European Union,” he explains.
The former diplomat criticizes the actions of the diplomatic representation of Mexico before the European Union. These issues, he adds, might be prevented by having a dialogue with all the instances in that region.
Could the pronouncement of the European Parliament be avoided?, he is questioned.
“Perhaps not, but the Mexican government might have been prevented in order to have a correct response. What is needed is a representation of another level. They did not see this coming, they did not foresee this. I cannot understand why the President is not informed”, she stresses.
Porfirio Muñoz Ledo exposes; however, that for the President of the Republic foreign policy issues are domestic policy and he sees them as an opportunity to win votes.
“He thinks they are [los europeos] neocolonial. It is absolutely false, these are deliberate acts of domestic politics.
“This shows that he wants to do internal politics,” he exclaims.
“If the Head of the Federal Executive makes a statement, he must do so through the Foreign Ministry, with the High Representative, but if the head of the Mexican State wants to make a claim for not agreeing, his interlocutor is the president of the European Commission . In this semester it is the president of France to whom the situation is clarified. He doesn’t have to drop levels,” he adds.
With an arrogant tone, Porfirio Muñoz Ledo questions the intention of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador when calling MEPs “sheep”.
“Whose sheep are they? Claudio X. González, Carlos Loret [de Mola]?
“He answers them as if they were his internal interlocutors. He calls them interference; That is a big mistake. We have an agreement that allows both parties to give their opinion on the issues”, she points out.
Muñoz Ledo also blames the European Parliament for having forgotten the dialogue with Mexico. For two years, he indicates, a meeting between congresses has not been held.
