MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday suggested “pausing” diplomatic relations with Spain, ratcheting up the rhetoric of his attacks on Mexico’s former colonial power, which he has accused of plundering Mexico.
Speaking at a regular news conference, Lopez Obrador said it was matter of taking a “breather” without breaking diplomatic ties with Spain, saying “the relationship is not good now.”
A spokesperson from Spain’s Foreign Affairs Ministry declined to comment.
Lopez Obrador has repeatedly accused Spanish companies of taking advantage of Mexico, particularly in the energy sector, likening their actions to colonial-era plunderers.
The Mexican president said there had been “economic promiscuity” between Mexico and Spain during a run of previous governments in which Mexico was “ransacked.”
“So the best thing is to have a break, a breather,” he said.
(Reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez and Diego Ore; Additional reporting by Belen Carreno in Madrid;Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Sandra Maler)
