May 18, 2023
From the American People with strings attached
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has denied that the funds it allocates to Mexico, or any other country, have a political objective, as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has repeatedly accused them of.
“No funding from the U.S. Government can be used for partisan purposes,” said USAID in a formal response to the president’s allegations.
However, the president reiterated this Thursday his criticisms and denunciations. “This U.S. agency dissociates itself and says it is not true, but there is evidence that they give money to these groups that are openly against a legal and legitimate, independent government,” he said.
This sponsorship, he explained is an act of interference and violation of Mexico’s sovereignty. “We are not a colony or protectorate, they are going to have to learn to respect us,” he expressed.
“Key partner”.
“The U.S. Government and its agencies have rigorous mechanisms in place to monitor and ensure that U.S. assistance is implemented objectively and in accordance with the provisions of the grants,” USAID assured the Mexican government in the communiqué.
Similarly, the agency recalled that it has collaborated with Mexico for more than 40 years and is “a key partner” in international cooperation, embodied by Lopez Obrador and U.S. President Joe Biden.
“Today, USAID and the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) jointly coordinate our overseas assistance to address the root causes of migration in northern Central America,” it said.
The Agency’s programs, he added, also focus on mutual U.S.-Mexico priorities such as crime and violence prevention, strengthening the rule of law, improving transparency, and protecting and promoting human rights.
In addition, the statement explained, they fund programs that support people in rural communities to provide them with sources of income while respecting the environment.
Criticism
USAID insisted that it is working within the framework of the Mexico-US-Canada Agreement (T-MEC) and the High Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) to integrate the supply chains of the three countries, and consolidate North America as the world’s leading economic and clean energy powerhouse.
However, López Obrador has constantly criticized the programs that U.S. agencies finance in Mexico, as he considers that USAID acts in a self-serving and interfering manner.
One example, the president has stressed is that the agency finances the association Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity, headed by businessman Claudio X. González, one of the main opponents of the current Mexican government.
The list also includes civil society organizations such as Article 19 (freedom of expression and right to information organization), the Foundation of the Autonomous University of Chapingo and even the Red Cross.
For the Mexican president, who even wrote a letter to Biden earlier this year, USAID “has dedicated itself to financing organizations openly opposed to the legal and legitimate government” he represents, for which reason he demanded that the sending of funds cease.