The violation of Mexican sovereignty generates outrage throughout South America. But for López Obrador this also has a positive side.
López Obrador is in the electoral campaign Photo: AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo
The decision of the head of State of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to suspend diplomatic relations with Ecuador was the correct one. The intrusion of police officers into the Mexican embassy and the arrest of former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas, who was asylum there, are a violation of international law. This is also indicated by the unusual unity of those who condemned the attack: from the leftist governments of Cuba and Venezuela to the ultra-economically liberal Javier Milei and the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro. The measure was criticized by the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa.
If the security forces break into the diplomatic mission of another country, one can talk about an intervention with a clear conscience. The Caracas Convention adopted by the OAS stipulates that it remains the responsibility of the country granting asylum to evaluate the reasons for fleeing. It doesn't matter if it's journalist Julian Assange, who found protection in an Ecuadorian embassy of all places, or the corrupt Glas.
However, it is notable that the left-wing politician Obrador is campaigning precisely in favor of glass. In his homeland, the Mexican became famous fighting against corrupt political opponents who were involved in the Odebrecht scandal, in which case Glas was behind bars. López Obrador constantly emphasizes that he does not want to interfere in the affairs of other countries. However, he recently linked the murder of a politician in the 2023 Ecuadorian election campaign to Noboa's victory.
The fact that Noboa later declared the Mexican ambassador persona non grata and thus escalated the dispute is not inconvenient for López Obrador. It is election season in Mexico and nothing provokes greater outrage than an attack on national sovereignty. For López Obrador, Noboa, the son of the economically liberal businessman, is a welcome enemy.