President López Obrador said Monday that the federal government has not received a response to its request that the United States stop funding what he says are political groups opposed to his administration.
The government sent a diplomatic note to the U.S. earlier this month, asking it to explain why it has provided funding to Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI), a civil society organization that has been critical of López Obrador and his administration.
The president has also railed against the United States government’s funding of press-freedom group Article 19, which has also criticized him.
Speaking at his news conference on Monday, López Obrador said, “They’re not parties, but they are lobby groups or organizations that participate in politics, as is currently being done. … It’s improper that the United States government gives money to these organizations, even more so in electoral times. … It’s interference in the public life of our country,” he said.
“It’s very regrettable that the United States government hasn’t taken our request seriously. For that reason, we’re going to keep on respectfully insisting that it no longer finance political groups in Mexico, and the best thing would be that it didn’t intervene to finance any political group in any country in the world.”
Despite that remark, López Obrador said he wouldn’t raise the issue with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is scheduled to visit Mexico next week to discuss ways to stem migration from Central America.
“There’s another agenda [for the meeting with Harris]. This [funding issue] has to do with the Department of State, with the embassy, because it’s the United States Embassy that distributes the money,” López Obrador said. “… This mustn’t be done. … It’s not related to the good foreign policy, the cooperation between the people [of Mexico and the United States], the friendly [bilateral] relations …”
The president also said that if organizations such as MCCI and Article 19 had any scruples, they would reject funding from a foreign government. “They claim that they’re not playing politics when it’s public knowledge that they are. It’s not necessary to present evidence; they are completely devoted to campaigning against us,” he said.
