The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, offered this Wednesday asylum and nationality to Nicaraguans who were declared “stateless” by the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo and invited to resolve the political crisis through “dialogue”, although he avoided a once again condemn the repressive measures of the Ortega-Murillo regime.
“Asylum, nationality, whatever they want. Nationality cannot be lost by decree,” López Obrador said at his daily press conference, after announcing that several of the Nicaraguans recently exiled to the United States have requested “to be in Mexico.”
“Mexico will always be open to providing protection and asserting the right to asylum. If it is requested, if it is requested, if it is considered possible, we are in the best disposition ”, he reiterated.
In a letter that López Obrador sent to Ortega on December 1, and that he made public this Wednesday, the Mexican president had already shown himself open to receiving the political prisoners then imprisoned. However, he clarified that the letter was never answered by the Government of Nicaragua.
dialogue request
Regarding the request for “dialogue”, he assured that his government always sought “that an agreement be reached and that the prisoners be released.”
“It is possible to talk, everyone talks, even the staunchest enemies,” said the president, to later give as an example the request for mediation that he proposed months ago to end the invasion of Ukraine.
“All the more so in the case of our Nicaraguan brothers. Why not the dialogue?” he asked.
Despite the questions, López Obrador once again avoided condemning the political crisis and the human rights violations in Nicaragua, especially after the exile on February 9 of 222 opponents and the revocation of their nationality.
Six days later, the country’s authorities stripped another 94 Nicaraguans of their nationality, including religious, former officials, human rights defenders, opponents, journalists and students.
In the letter sent to Ortega last December, López Obrador assured the Nicaraguan president that Mexico’s humanitarian offers do not entail rejection of his regime.
“I express to you that at no time would we lend ourselves to being used in a campaign against Nicaragua and its Government, encouraged by interests alien to those of our peoples,” he wrote.
In addition, he added that it is not the intention of his Government “to make any public expression on the issue at hand” and that “any communication in this regard would be as determined by the Government of Nicaragua.”
López Obrador did show concern at the time about the state of health in prison of the former guerrilla commander Dora María Téllez, to whom he offered medical attention and asylum in Mexico “avoiding propaganda or leading roles.”
“I consider that it is a humanitarian gesture towards Mrs. Téllez, or any other of the people incarcerated today, in no way would it dishonor Nicaragua’s sovereign policy and would be positively received by the international community,” he stressed at the time.
The prolonged silence so far of the Mexican president contrasts with that of other left-wing governments in Latin America, such as that of Chilean President Gabriel Boric, who has repeatedly condemned the Nicaraguan government and has referred to Ortega as a “dictator.”
The Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, also recently took a position on the matter, saying that “Latin America must be a space without political prisoners and without social prisoners” and urged the international community to condemn “human rights violations.”
With information from EFE
