Washington.- President Andrés Manuel López Obrador should have left it to President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum to decide whether to move forward with the reform of the Judicial Branch once her government has begun, given the effects it has on relations with the United States, said Democratic Congressman Greg Stanton.
Stanton said the reform to the judiciary, approved by the Mexican Congress this week, puts Mexico in the wrong direction, as it affects the interest of American companies to increase their investments in the country.
“(Sheinbaum) is a brilliant woman. Let her make this decision!” said Congressman Stanton in an interview with Grupo Reforma, after having presented a resolution in the Lower House in which he expressed his concern about the effects on trade and security that the reform to the Judicial Branch would have. “It is such an important decision that negatively impacts relations between the US and Mexico. Why would (President López Obrador) want to do it on one of his last days in office, when he has a new president who was overwhelmingly elected by the people of Mexico?” said the legislator.
Representative on Capitol Hill from a district that includes a good portion of the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area, Stanton was elected to Congress in 2019 and is a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, serving on the Latin America subcommittee.
“Allow President-elect Sheinbaum to make this decision. Give her the opportunity to analyze it. Don’t hand her an incredibly difficult issue, an issue that would take years to resolve and that will negatively impact the relationship between the US and Mexico,” Stanton said in the interview in Washington. Since his arrival at the Capitol in 2019, Stanton has taken a special interest in promoting the US relationship with Mexico, an interest that arises from his experience as mayor of the city of Phoenix between 2012 and 2018 and which, according to local statistics, has exports to Mexico for close to 3 billion dollars. “In Arizona, Mexico has always been our number one trading partner,” said Congressman Stanton. “The fact that now, at this moment, Mexico is going in the wrong direction in terms of reducing the independence of the Judiciary (…) I think it’s the wrong step. Why would they want to do anything other than increase and grow this incredible economic relationship?” questioned the legislator. Before presenting his resolution on President López Obrador’s reforms this week, the Arizona congressman confided that multiple American companies consider that the reform to the Judicial Branch affects protections in the 2020 Mexico-US-Canada Trade Agreement. “I do not want to get involved in internal Mexican politics, but there is no doubt that this important decision extends far beyond the borders of Mexico as it directly affects the will and desire of companies in the US to generate employment and economic opportunities in Mexico,” said Stanton. “I have spoken with many companies involved in the trade relationship between the US and Mexico, and they believe that this will directly affect their will and desire to increase investment in Mexico, and that it is taking us in the wrong direction,” said Stanton in the interview with Grupo Reforma in Washington. So far, the Administration of President Joe Biden has avoided making further comments after last August the US ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, mentioned that the reform already approved in the Chambers and local Congresses could have pernicious effects for the US as well. Considered a politician from the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, Stanton was elected to the Capitol in 2019 and faces re-election against Republican Kelly Cooper; Stanton’s district in Arizona is considered competitive and includes the cities of Tempe, Mesa and Chandler as well as south-east Phoenix.
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