BRICS De-Dollarization Proposal / Migration

AMLO Rejects BRICS 'De-dollarization' Proposal. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ruled out Mexico joining the proposal by the group of countries known as BRICS, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, to "de-dollarize" the economies and stop using the American dollar as a reference for trade.

López Obrador pointed out that there are "many" reasons to maintain the dollar as the world's reference currency, one of the main one being that the US is Mexico's main trading partner. "We will continue to use the dollar as the world's reference currency in our economic, commercial and financial relations for many reasons, including our geographical proximity. Additionally, we have economic and trade relations with the US that other countries do not have due to geopolitical and proximity reasons," said the president.

López Obrador emphasized that the Mexican peso remains strong and experiences higher growth rates compared to other countries, including its northern neighbors, the US and Canada.

AMLO Urges US to Address Root Causes of Migration. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called on the US government to "apply itself more" to address the root causes of migration and not just focus on walls and militarizing the border.

This comes a week before a meeting with a dozen regional presidents to discuss the migration issue in Palenque, Chiapas, under the name "For a Fraternal and Well-Being Driven Neighborhood."

López Obrador emphasized that migrants do not leave their communities by choice but out of necessity. He seeks cooperation from the US government, acknowledging their efforts, but urges them to make a greater commitment to addressing the underlying causes of this problem. He stressed the importance of not only thinking about walls and border militarization but also tending to the needs of the people. 

Water Pollution. President López Obrador seeks to propose an initiative to control water use before the end of his term. López Obrador acknowledged that water pollution has affected children, leading to childhood cancer. 

"We must prevent this contamination, which has been proven to affect children. Childhood cancer is largely caused by water pollution from heavy metals and other substances. We are working on this, and we want to establish proper regulations for water use and management before we conclude our term. We will not allow economic growth ambitions to harm the health of our people. We are highly conscious of this and I hope that we can propose an initiative before the end of our government," he said.