Freedom of Expression Compromised/Revenge Consultation?

President of Haiti. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador offered his condolences and lamented the assassination of the president of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse. “Send a hug to the people of Haiti for the unfortunate assassination of the president of that country and his wife. We are very sorry. They are poor people, very much in need of international aid, and what happened is very regrettable. We pay tribute to them.” López Obrador recalled that Moïse attended his inauguration in 2018 and that Mexico was going to send 150,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Haiti.

Fake news section stays. López Obrador said that even though the opponents of his government disagree with the “Fake News” section that is now part of the president’s daily briefing, it will remain. He said that the section responds to false news. “The lie is reactionary, the truth is revolutionary. We all have to act, journalists, politicians, representatives of social organizations, with adherence to the truth, because the people have to be respected. Do not use freedom of expression as a business, do not make excuses for it and always do objective, professional, pluralistic journalism.”

Government outcomes. López Obrador commented that the government has demonstrated results despite the economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic and indicated that he is not concerned that progress is not being made as desired. “The pandemic came and it was the pandemic for everything,” he said.  “We are facing a very hard thing because of the pain it brings, how difficult it is, and we are taking care of the problem, we continue to address it and we continue to carry out the transformation. Neither with the pandemic nor with the economic crisis, and this has been very important, have we gotten bogged down.” The president said that Mexico now “has greater prestige globally and in the economic field” since it is one of the most attractive countries to invest in.

Diplomatic note sent to the US. The government is awaiting a response from the US government regarding the alleged financing of Mexican organizations against his administration, López Obrador said. “We are waiting for the answer. There must be one because the United States government should not be financing groups that are frankly opposed to a legally and legitimately constituted government.”

Consultation clarification. López Obrador said that a referendum regarding whether to try five former presidents for corruption is not a matter of revenge and that he wants this exercise to be binding. He has also said he would he hold a referendum in 2022 asking voters if they wanted him to continue as president, saying he would quit if the results went against him. “I am going to submit to the revocation of my mandate in March and there will be no valid percentage of participation. If I lose, I leave; it is not a quantitative matter.” The referendum to try former presidents will be held on Aug. 1 and could lead to criminal trials against Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994), Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000), Vicente Fox (2000-2006) , Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) and Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018).

‘Wellness Gas.’ López Obrador announced that he would create a company to distribute LP gas at low prices. The company will be called Gas Bienestar and will be administered by PEMEX to control the price. “PEMEX sells (gas to retailers) at a price and they sell to the consumer at a very high price,” López Obrador said.

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish