Mexican president calls on US to stop funding groups critical of his administration

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday repeated calls for the United States to stop funding civil society groups in the country that have been critical of his administration.

Speaking at his daily press conference, López Obrador said, “It is a shame for any government in the world to get involved in the internal life of another country.”

López Obrador in May sent a diplomatic note complaining about funding from the United States Agency for International Development for organizations like Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity, a nongovernmental organization that tracks corruption in Mexico.

Earlier this month, López Obrador said he had not yet received a response to his note.

The renewed push against opposition groups comes as López Obrador is mired in the first truly damaging scandal of his presidency, involving his son’s lifestyle in Texas. 

The scandal was first uncovered by Carlos Loret de Mola, a nationally known reporter. López Obrador further angered his critics by publicly attacking Loret de Mola and asking his tax authorities to audit the reporter’s earnings.

And López Obrador is facing a self-imposed recall election in April, asking Mexicans to head to the polls to decide whether he should stay on for the remainder of his term, which ends in 2024.

Opposition leaders say the recall is a ploy for the president to remain on the campaign trail; López Obrador has defended the move as a campaign promise he made in 2018.

Since he assumed the presidency, López Obrador has used his daily press conference to attack opposition leaders, often labeling those who oppose his government as traitors.

Opposition groups have rallied against López Obrador’s use of the bully pulpit, particularly as he’s taken aim at Loret de Mola amid growing violence against journalists in Mexico.