Mexico Will Not Sever Relations with Israel Advocates for Peace
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador reaffirmed that Mexico will not sever relations with Israel, as he expressed during his morning press conference on November 7th.
The Mexican president announced on Tuesday that Mexico will not break off relations with Israel despite the death of over 10,000 civilians in the Gaza Strip, which has prompted diplomatic actions from other left-leaning governments in Latin America.
“We want to make it very clear that we will not sever relations with Israel, nor will we take a stance beyond seeking peace, preventing the continuation of war, and its spread because what is happening is very risky, very painful, and it even causes a sense of powerlessness,” he emphasized.
The Mexican president’s position contrasts with that of other left-leaning governments in the region. For instance, Bolivia severed relations with Israel last week, and Chile and Colombia called their ambassadors in Tel Aviv for consultations.
Mexico Will Not Sever Relations with Israel
During his morning press conference, the president maintained his “neutral” stance and reiterated that Mexico will not break relations with Israel.
This stance has drawn criticism from both the Israeli Embassy in Mexico, which sees it as implicit support for terrorism, and Mexican groups supporting Palestine, which demand a condemnation of the “genocide” in Gaza.
“At the beginning, when they asked me to take sides, I said: neutrality. We don’t get involved in that. We want peace. This was not understood because if we condemned [any party], we were immediately taking a position, and we knew there would be retaliation, as unfortunately happened,” he argued.
López Obrador expressed his regret that over 10,000 people have died in the Gaza Strip after a month of conflict that began on October 7th with a surprise attack by the armed wing of the Hamas group, resulting in more than 1,400 deaths in Israel.
Regarding the conflict between Israel and the Hamas group and everything related to the Palestinians, he stated, “Everything that is happening is very sad, very painful, very inhumane. It is the predominance of the irrational. Of course, I am in favor of peace and a ceasefire,” he commented.
“Over 10,000 people have died, many of them children. Can’t we reach an agreement?” he added.
The president pointed out that “the UN took too long because from the very beginning, it should have called on all member countries.”
“Hopefully, the United Nations will do something. The United States, which has a very good relationship with Israel, should intervene to guarantee a ceasefire, protect civilians, and prevent massacres. But we should all help to achieve peace without confrontation,” he concluded.
