MEXICO CITY (CN) — Mexico’s president Tuesday thanked President Joe Biden for the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Texas Governor Greg Abbott over his refusal to remove buoys placed in the Rio Grande to stop migrant crossings.
“We are very grateful to President Biden for having sent to the attorney general’s office, to the judges, a complaint against the governor of Texas for installing these buoys, these concertina wire fences, in the Rio Grande, which are violating our sovereignty and violating international treaties,” said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in his morning press conference.
His comment came in response to a question from a reporter for Russian state-owned media outlet Sputnik on the results of a meeting between Mexican and U.S. officials to discuss issues in the Bicentennial Framework for Security, Public Health, and Safe Communities.
Citing a trilateral meeting to be held between Mexican, U.S. and Canadian officials later on Tuesday, López Obrador declined to make specific comments on the results of Monday’s meeting, but emphasized his gratitude for the lawsuit.
Governor Abbott is “acting irresponsibly,” López Obrador said, calling the placement of the buoys “crude propaganda more than anything, and, in a word, political maneuvering.”
The same could be said of López Obrador’s praise of Biden, according to migrant activists in Mexico, despite their support for the removal of Abbott’s buoys.
“AMLO’s statement is definitely politicking,” said activist Irineo Mujica in a phone interview, using the acronym by which López Obrador is commonly known in Mexico.
“The truth is that he has not treated migrants well during his term, he has used them, and this is just politicking,” he continued. “Still, he may be just shedding crocodile tears, but someone had to say something, because Abbott’s actions, while also just politics, are cruel and treat people like animals.”
He cited reports of migrants, including a pregnant woman, being caught in concertina wire while attempting to cross into the United States to request asylum.
Venezuelan migrants camped at the U.S.-Mexico border told Courthouse News this past November that the most dangerous part of their migration had been dealing with harassment and violence on the part of Mexico’s immigration authority.
Eunice Rendón, executive director of the migrant support organization Agenda Migrante, said that despite amped-up initiatives from both governments to slow migrant flows north, the message does matter.
“It’s good that López Obrador has recognized the Biden administration’s lawsuit against this act that, no matter how you look at it, is inhumane,” Rendón said in a phone interview.
Much of López Obrador’s policies on migrants transiting through Mexico have been in response to continued pressure from the United States to make the former act as both “wall [and] warehouse” for migrants, she said.
López Obrador, who failed political science courses three times during his 14-year quest to earn his bachelor’s degree, appeared to misunderstand how the U.S. executive branch functions.
Despite the confusion, his appreciation for the lawsuit is likely genuine, according to former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Earl Anthony Wayne.
“Under the guidelines of the Biden administration, the DOJ is supposed to be independent,” Wayne said in a phone interview. “But in any case, I’m sure they do appreciate that the Justice Department has filed a suit against Texas. They had already complained about that and said they were going to send a delegation to see if the buoys are on the Mexican side and that they’re worried about the safety of people.”
As for the efficacy of the Bicentennial Framework talks, Wayne said that “the results in the last two years have not been satisfactory.” He cited the increased presence of fentanyl in both the United States and Mexico, but said that there has been some progress to rein in the illicit arms trade to Mexico.
The White House Tuesday issued a press release that reiterated the two nations’ “continuing joint efforts under the U.S.-Mexico Bicentennial Framework,” but did not include hard data on results of the high-level dialogues that have been held for nearly two years.
“The statement today just said they’re talking about all these things, there’s no real indication of progress on anything,” Wayne said. “What’s very important is that there be regular updates on concrete progress being made, because in the United States there’s an awful lot of criticism — especially from Republicans — of Mexico not acting forcefully against fentanyl and smuggling.”
López Obrador said members of his cabinet will speak on Wednesday about the content of the week’s high-level dialogues.
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