Mexican President Obrador Suggests 'Pausing' Diplomatic Relations With Spain

The president noted that he chose to take a "breather" instead of outright cutting ties with Madrid to determine and chart a way forward in bilateral relations.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has suggested "pausing" his country's diplomatic relations with Spain as he accused the latter's government and companies of ransacking Mexico.

Obrador said that even though relations between the two countries are "not good now", he does not want to break ties completely either. Instead, he wanted to take a "breather", the president clarified.

In the past, Obrador has accused Spanish companies Iberdrola, Repsol, and Obrascon Huarte Lain SA (OHL) of engaging in corruption with government officials in order to secure contracts that were "juicy" for them but "harmful" for Mexico. He also dubbed Spanish private investment in Mexico "neo-colonialist" in 2019.

Mexico was Spain's fifth biggest trading partner outside the EU in 2018, with bilateral trade, facilitated by the EU-Mexico free trade agreement, reaching $10.8 billion that year. Spain exports vehicles and wines to the country, while Mexico sells oil, drugs, alcohol, as well as fish.