Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Picture: REUTERS/EDGARD GARRIDO
With rousing appeals to national sovereignty, Lopez Obrador said he would set out Mexico’s position on the issue alongside an independence day military parade on September 16, even as he sought to downplay any possible fall out with the US.In reality, Lopez Obrador is annoyed, concerned and frustrated by the bust-up, and tried to head off the dispute by personally negotiating deals with firms upset with his policies, a person familiar with the president's thinking said.
The office of Lopez Obrador, a leftist who in this and other disputes has sought to energise his electoral base by arguing that corrupt domestic adversaries are behind opposition to his policies, did not reply to a request for comment. But the deals he announced with energy firms did not prevent USTR filing its demand. Canada quickly followed suit.
Mexico would make the argument to Washington that a fight with one of its key trading partners risks damaging the US economy at a sensitive moment, with US midterm elections looming in November, a Mexican official said.