As López Obrador threatens free elections in Mexico, Biden should have defended democracy more boldly | Opinion

President Joe Biden deserves credit for defending democracy in Brazil and denouncing the dictatorships in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. But he was egregiously silent about President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s threats to the rule of law during his two-day visit to Mexico earlier this week.

Granted, Biden had several key issues on his agenda for the U.S.-Canada-Mexico summit in Mexico City that ended Tuesday, which included finding ways to reduce illegal immigration across the southern border, combating drug trafficking and increasing North American trade.

But Biden, who, unlike former President Donald Trump, has made the defense of democracy a cornerstone of his foreign policy, should have at least sent a tacit sign of concern over López Obrador’s efforts to dismantle Mexico’s top electoral agency ahead of the 2024 presidential elections.

López Obrador, a leftist populist, has taken steps to virtually destroy his country’s National Electoral Institute, known by its Spanish initials INE. That’s the independent election-monitoring agency that oversaw Mexico’s transition to democracy in 2000 after more than seven decades of one-party rule. It has guaranteed free elections ever since.

Targeting journalists

On Dec. 15, López Obrador’s party got the Chamber of Deputies to pass a bill that significantly reduces the INE’s autonomy and budget. The bill is expected to pass the full Congress, with some revisions, in coming weeks and to be signed into law by the president.

In addition to seeking to control the country’s electoral agency, López Obrador has made it a routine to discredit journalists and leading intellectuals. Violence against the press increased by 85% during the first three years of López Obrador’s term, compared with the same period during his predecessor’s term, according to the Reporters Without Borders, a free-press monitoring group.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told me in November that the United States “cannot afford to ignore the steady erosion of Mexico’s democracy and the rule of law under President López Obrador.”

But, judging from his public remarks, Biden failed to raise concerns about López Obrador’s threats to the rule of law during the summit.

Worse, Biden even painted his Mexican counterpart — an open supporter of the Cuban and Venezuelan dictatorships — as a fellow advocate for democracy. Biden said, “We have to continue to build and contribute to democratic institutions in the hemisphere.”

Pascal Beltran del Río, managing editor of the daily Excelsior, tweeted Biden’s “we have to continue” quote and commented, “Really, Mr. Biden? Haven’t you heard about the [Mexican president’s] regressive electoral reform?”

Keeping the peace

I asked former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda whether Biden should have made at least an implicit gesture of support for Mexico’s INE, journalists and pro-democracy activists.

Castañeda answered that, of course, Biden should have done that, but added that the U.S. president is too afraid that López Obrador would have been infuriated and retaliated by ceasing to cooperate on migration issues.

“The Biden administration, which has vowed to be a leader in the struggle between democracy and autocracy around the world, should have touched that issue in Mexico as well,” Castañeda told me. “Mexico should not be an exception.”

To be sure, it would be naive to expect Biden to go to Mexico and make a fiery speech criticizing his host for undermining democracy. That could endanger migration, drug and trade agreements that are vital to U.S. national security.

No country has a bigger impact on daily life in the United States than Mexico, especially as illegal migration hits record highs and fentanyl smuggled across the Mexico-U.S. border is resulting in more than 100,000 deaths a year in the United States.

But Biden could have made an oblique reference to how important it is for all democracies to have independent electoral authorities. Or he could have held a meeting with representatives of Mexico’s civil society, if for no other reason than to listen to their grievances.

In 2016, President Barack Obama met with representatives of civil society during his visit to Cuba, a full-blown totalitarian state. Biden could have done the same in Mexico, which still is a democracy, though an increasingly fragile one.

Don’t miss the “Oppenheimer Presenta” TV show on Sundays at 7 pm E.T. on CNN en Español. Twitter: @oppenheimera

This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 5:12 PM.