Ecuador objects to comments by Mexican President Obrador, tells the ambassador to leave

The Ecuadorian government on Thursday declared Mexico’s ambassador a “persona non grata” citing “unfortunate” comments by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador about October’s presidential election. Ambassador Raquel Serur Smeke should leave the country “as soon as possible,” Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

Speaking of rising violence in Mexico’s current election campaign, Obrador referred to the impact the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio had on Ecuador’s 2023 election. He suggested that Citizens Revolution candidate Luisa Gonzales was headed to victory before the murder but that claims her party was associated with the murder allowed Daniel Noboa to win the runoff.

“The candidate of the progressive forces [González] was ahead by 10 points after the first election, and then a candidate who speaks ill of her is suddenly killed and she falls from the top and the election is won by someone else [Noboa],” Obrador said. “A corrupt media pushed the narrative, and we see what happened.”

Gonzalez, supported by ex-president Rafael Correa, lost the October presidential runoff election to Noboa, winning 48% of the vote to Noboa’s 52%. During the campaign, Obrador, a friend of Correa, supported Gonzalez’s candidacy.

Obrador said he made the Ecuador comparison to warn Mexican voters of the “corrupt influence” the media can play in the outcome of elections. “I’m talking about this so that owners of media outlets and those who are participating in these campaigns take responsibility for their actions and positions,” he added. “I also talk about it so the people understand what can happen.”

At least 20 police were posted outside the Mexican embassy in Quito Thursday night, reportedly to ensure that former vice president Jorge Glas does not leave.

He added that Ecuador “descended into a state of violence” as a result of the Villavicencio assassination and does not want to see that happen in Mexico. At least five local candidates have been murdered during Mexico’s election campaign and the country has seen an overall spike in violence.

Ecuador’s official statement demanding that Ambassador Serur leave the country, was brief, claiming a violation of “international standards of conduct between nations” and calling Obrador’s comments “unfortunate and gratuitous.”

Relations between Mexico’s leftist government and Ecuador have been strained since Noboa’s election and were exacerbated in February when Correa’s former vice president, Jorge Glas, took refuge in the Mexican embassy in Quito to avoid arrest on corruption charges.

Former Ecuador deputy foreign minister Pablo Zapata said Ecuador’s response to Obrador was justified. “What he said was insulting and incorrect and reflects his frustration with increasing violence in his country,” he said. “While Ecuador’s situation in improving, the situation in Mexico is deteriorating partly due to Obrador’s policy of allowing impunity for drug cartels. Maybe he should acknowledge his country’s role in exporting violence to Ecuador.”

Zapata added: “Obrador is obviously unaware of politics in Ecuador. If he was, he would know that the Correista candidate in the previous election was also far ahead after the first vote and lost in the runoff. That had nothing to do with violence, It was simply the will of the people.”