Mexico declines to impose economic sanctions on Russia

(MEXICO CITY – TYT) – “Mexico’s government refuses to impose any economic sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine,” Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday. He also criticized the “censorship” of Russian state-sponsored media by social media companies. “We are not going to take any sort of economic reprisal because we want to have good relations with all the governments in the world,” said Lopez Obrador in his morning conference.

AMLO’s position stands against the expansive international sanctions imposed on Russia’s actions. It must be mentioned that Russia has built strong links to populist, authoritarian governments in Latin America, such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, with strong ties to Lopez Obrador’s administration. This situation might affect U.S.-Mexico relations since their economies are deeply intertwined. Leftist Lopez Obrador has criticized U.S. foreign policy.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard by phone, “reiterating the worldwide call for the withdrawal of Russia’s troops from Ukraine,” he said in a tweet.

A week ago, Mexico condemned the invasion and demanded that Russia end its military operations in Ukraine, marking a tougher stance than Lopez Obrador’s call for dialogue. That has vanished. 

Lopez Obrador’s comments on Tuesday morning came in response to a question about the interest in Mexico of Russia’s second-largest oil producer Lukoil, who has completed its acquisition of a 50% operator interest in an offshore oil project in Mexico, part of its drive to expand its global reach. 

Lopez Obrador also criticized the censorship of Russian state media. “I don’t agree with the fact that media from Russia or any country is censored,” Lopez Obrador said after Google barred Russia’s state-owned media outlet RT and other channels from receiving money for ads on their websites, apps, and YouTube videos, similar to a move by Facebook after the invasion of Ukraine. 

The Yucatan Times
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