Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador once again called upon the United States to cease their support of civil society groups and organizations that continue to be critical of his administration’s Fourth Transformation. 

In a press conference earlier this month Obrador stated “We are asking the U.S. government to no longer finance groups that act openly, opponents of governments, in my case, in our case, of a legally and legitimately constituted government, because it is an interventionist act, a violation of our sovereignty,” as reported by Reuters. The president feels that this breaches Mexico’s sovereignty and legitimate power, and that the U.S., specifically Joe Biden, does not have the authority to interfere with Mexico’s internal affairs. There has been much backlash from U.S. political figures on Obrador’s leadership such as Ted Cruz who warned Joe Biden about being “deeply concerned about the deepening of civil unrest in Mexico, and the collapse of civil society” as reported by the Mexico Daily Post. However, Obrador responded to these criticisms by claiming that “the critiques by Cruz “fill him with pride” and” “If he praised me, if he spoke well of me, maybe I would think that we are not doing things right,” he said in one of his daily press conferences this month. 

Previously, the U.S. has supported groups such as Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) through funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The MCCI focuses on the prevention, punishment, and eradication of corruption and impunity in Mexico. The reason Obrador has an issue with this organization is that “It’s interference, it’s interventionism, it’s promoting coup plotters” he said in an earlier press conference. Obrador supports civil society organizations that fight corruption, however he believes that the MCCI is a political actor. 

After these initial statements, the MCCI tweeted that their work is completely legal and not political. Given the rising tensions between Mexico and the U.S. over power market and renewable energy debates, Obrador is more inclined to feel as if the United States has political motivations behind their financial support of the MCCI. To to maintain civil relations, the U.S. must give a timely response to Mexico’s diplomatic note, as well as a statement from the U.S. embassy in Mexico. There also needs to be stricter guidelines to further define what is considered a political organization. This way Mexico can truly declare if the MCCI meets criteria to not receive further funding from the U.S. If this step is not taken, the U.S. is technically within their rights to aid the MCCI.