Julio Hernández López: Shipyard

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It is a high bet that the President of Mexico makes when he announces that he will not personally attend the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, if not all the countries of the continent are invited.

This position strengthens in the first place the figure of López Obrador as a politician willing to disalign himself from programs made in Washington, even at the risk of weakening or affecting the interests of his own country.

In the opinion of the United States powers, the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, which are not on Joe Biden’s guest list, and the Mexican defense of continental unity in the abstract, which specifically refers to these three countries, can generate reluctance or concern in the imperial elite.

However, it is possible that the Biden government would benefit from having a reliable interlocutor in relation to Central American, South American and Caribbean governments, specifically the Cuban one, in order to process sensitive and multifactorial issues such as migration and organized crime. , the critical evolution of the Cuban situation and the multiplication of progressive leadership in South America.

There is, of course, the risk that a weak and manageable president, as Biden seems to be, gives in to intrigues or pressures that seek punish the daring In any case, there is time for negotiations. Coming from Cuba as the last destination of his international tour, President López Obrador seems to launch a challenge that can also be read in the White House and the Pentagon as an opportunity for dialogue.

Just yesterday, the highly active United States ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar (his constant presence at the National Palace reminds us of Diego Fernández de Cevallos, who frequently went to Los Pinos to negotiate with Carlos Salinas de Gortari), was at the headquarters of the federal Executive Power without knowing, at the time of typing this column, the reasons and consequences of that visit.

And López Obrador himself had said in the morning that The Summit is still a long way off and we can reach an agreement. But we do have to unite all of us, seek the unity of America. For now, Marcelo Ebrard has to keep his one-way ticket to Los Angeles open next June, in case he needs to fill in for the reluctant Tabascan politician again in international forums.

On another topic: Andrés Roemer has been present through a video to proclaim his innocence and ensure that he is a victim of injustice. Accused of rapes and other assaults of a sexual nature, the former diplomat and former host of television programs remains outside the reach of the Mexican justice that he invokes.

Always under the protection of powerful politicians and businessmen, Roemer now resides in Israel, a country he has served even at the expense of the Mexican interest he allegedly represented. Perhaps the best possible allegation of this peculiar character would consist of subjecting himself to the legal channels of the country where he is accused, instead of taking refuge in another, without extradition treaties, from which he launches videos on the run in the style of PAN member Ricardo Anaya.

How much is Mexico changing, for the popular welfare, if the banks have obtained profits in this first quarter of the year that are 50.3 percent higher than last year in the same period? These results are, according to the National Banking and Securities Commission, the best since such records were established in 1998.

Six of those firms (BBVA, Santander, Banorte, Citibanamex, HSBC and Scotiabank) took almost three quarters (73.4 percent) of the total profits of all banks. An example of that prosperity: BBVA reported profits up 67.4 percent (note by Julio Gutiérrez: https://bit.ly/3NaZawx).

In exchange for these profits and proportionally, has the service to the public improved? Is the customer adequately protected? Are there credits at reasonable interest rates to promote economic development? Do they contribute to national recovery? Until tomorrow!

Twitter: @julioastillero

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