Mexico’s neutrality over the Russian-Ukrainian war has drawn backlash from Washington.

Over the weekend, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico caused a stir when he told Mexican lawmakers that Mexico could never approach Russia.This is what Ambassador Ken Salazar said Say In his address to members of the lower house of the Mexican Congress on Thursday (truly translated by you):

“Here I am (he said, pointing to the lapel on the chest of his jacket) and here are the flags of Mexico, the United States and Ukraine. We have to stand with Ukraine and against Russia.

The Russian ambassador was here yesterday touting how Mexico and Russia are doing. Sorry, this will never happen. it will never happen…

I remember very well that during World War II, there was no distance between Mexico and the United States, both countries united against what Hitler did…

When a family is attacked, the family is united… There is no difference between Mexico and America, we have to be the same. “

The long history of Mexican neutrality

Salazar’s comments were controversial. First, Mexico is a sovereign state, so it should be able to choose which countries it has close ties to, even if they are the target of U.S. sanctions.

The second is the stench of hypocrisy.The U.S. and its European allies have long argued that Russia has absolutely no right to try to determine what is happening in its sovereign neighbor Ukraine, even with a large number of weapons influx into the country From NATO members such as Poland and the Czech Republic. However, the U.S. government, through its ambassador to Mexico, is now trying to literally dictate the terms of Mexico’s relationship with Russia.

What the US essentially seems to be saying is that neutrality is not an option in the escalating conflict between Russia and the West — at least not for Mexico.

This brings us to our third point: Mexico’s neutrality history dates back to the early 1930s, albeit on hiatus. 1939, Neutrality Clause even add Its constitution was amended by the government of then-President Lazaro Cardenas, which also nationalized Mexico’s oil and gas a year ago. Since then, Mexico has maintained close ties with many countries under international sanctions, including Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Mexico’s longstanding neutrality has also made it a haven for asylum seekers, including Republicans who fled Spain at the end of the Spanish Civil War and immigrants from the Southern Cone dictatorship of the 1960s and 1970s.

Finally, even if Salazar elicited a firm alliance between Mexico and the United States against Hitler in World War II, it was not entirely based on facts.Mexico did not enter the war until 1942, after a German submarine torpedo 14 killed in Mexican tanker “Potrero del Llano” in international waters.

Salazar’s comments came a day after a handful of Mexican MPs and women belonging to the ruling coalition Morena, PT and PRI created a pro-Russian group in Congress. The guest of honor at the event was the Russian ambassador to Mexico, Victor Coronelli, who described the formation of the group as “In these complex times, my country faces not only a special military operation in Ukraine, but also a huge media war, a sign of support, friendship and solidarity. ”

deteriorating relationship

It was a provocative move by concerned lawmakers, and the United States was quick to respond. First, Salazar issued a warning that Mexico should never approach Russia. Then, hours later, U.S. Northern Command Commander Glenn Van Heck testified to the U.S. Senate that Mexico currently has more Russian spies than any other country on Earth:

“I want to point out that most of the GRU members in the world right now are in Mexico. That’s Russian intelligence. They keep an eye on the opportunities and access they have to influence the United States.”

as nation point out, the four-star general is answering questions from senators on the Armed Services Committee. He also claimed that China and Russia are “very active and active” throughout the Northern Command area of ??responsibility, which includes the Bahamas and Mexico. While both Russian and Chinese intelligence services are likely to have substantial presences in Mexico, given Mexico’s geostrategic position, it’s hard not to see Van Herck’s comments as a barely-disguised threat.

As readers are well aware, relations between the U.S. and Mexico have soured recently as AMLO attempts to rebalance Mexico’s economic model, which includes promoting domestic non-GMO production of staple crops such as corn; prioritizing Mexican crude for the domestic market ; Put Mexico’s electricity market back under the control of the state-owned utility, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), and nationalize the country’s lithium mines.

These policy measures are not necessarily in the commercial interests of the United States, Mexico’s largest trading partner – so relations have soured.

one step too far

Most Latin American countries, including Mexico, are ready to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at an emergency session of the UN General Assembly on March 2. But all but Chile and Colombia have refused to support the push by the United States and NATO to isolate Russia from the global economy. Most importantly, they include two of Latin America’s heavyweight economies, Brazil and Mexico, which together account for about 60% of the region’s GDP.

In response to Salazar’s comments, Coronelli and Van Heck Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (also known by his initials AMLO) highlighted Mexico’s role in the conflict. neutrality in:

“We need to send them a telegram telling them that Mexico is not a colony of any foreign country; Mexico is a free, independent, sovereign country. We are not a colony of Russia, China or the United States…

We’re not going to Moscow to spy on anyone, we’re not going to Beijing to monitor what they’re doing in China, we’re not going to Washington, we’re not going to even Los Angeles.We don’t do that…we don’t get involved for or against [this war], which is our neutral position, which is related to Mexico’s foreign policy. “

AMLO also admitted that he did not know if there were Russian spies on Mexican soil, or how many. In December 2020, the Mexican Senate approved a reform of the National Security Law aimed at limiting the presence of foreign agents in Mexico at the request of the president. The measure compels all foreign agents to request authorization to enter Mexico and report to authorities. Although the reform is specific to US DEA and CIA agents, the Mexican government says it applies to all countries.

AMLO has insisted on a policy of non-intervention in the conflict since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, but that’s not easy when your first trading partner is the US, which accounts for more than 80% of the world. buys Mexican exports and is arguably the main instigator of the conflict in Ukraine because of its insistence that Ukraine should be a member of NATO.

The US appears determined to take a “for us or against us” approach to the Russian sanctions. But currently it doesn’t work. Many of the world’s largest countries – including China, India, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Mexico – have refused to join.

Mexico has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but has made it clear that it will not impose sanctions of any kind on Russia, despite limited trade with Russia. On February 24, two days after the invasion began, Mexico’s foreign minister, Manuel Marcelo Luis Ebrard, cited Mexico’s experience of ceding roughly half of its territory to its neighbors. Mexico rejects defense of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:

“Because of our history and traditions, and the way we are formed as a nation, we must firmly reject and condemn an ??invasion of a country like Ukraine by a power like Russia.”

But neither AML nor Ebrard has backed the pervasive economic war waged by the United States and its European allies against Russia.those countries have The UK, Canada, South Korea, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore, Chile and Colombia have so far agreed to support US-EU-led sanctions. Outside of this alliance, few countries are engaged in the economic war against Putin’s government. Even close U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia, Israel and NATO member Turkey have refused to join the fray.

One obvious reason is that many governments in the so-called “Global South” are alarmed by the precedent of the United States, the European Union and their allies trying to expel Russia, one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of goods, from the global financial system. They know that if sanctions succeed in overthrowing Putin’s government (which seems unlikely to them), they may be next.

Another reason is that many governments simply don’t feel like they have a place in the game. This is the general position of Latin American governments during international wars.as nation notesLatin American countries tend to take a neutral stance in large international conflicts, limiting themselves to participating in peace missions under the UN banner.

At the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, AMLO summed up this position perfectly:

“We don’t think [this war] Follow us. We will not take any form of economic retaliation because we want to maintain good relations with all governments. “

However, according to Washington, this position is no longer tenable for Russia.