Mexico City, Oct 6 (EFE).- Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday that the United States will not build the extension of the wall on the border with Mexico, despite the fact that Joe Biden’s administration announced the construction of some 36 kilometers by order of the US Congress.
“The 36 kilometers are not going to be built and they (US) do not want to do it, that is what they expressed to us, they want to comply with the law, but they do not agree with the construction of walls, that does not solve anything. It is a measure, more than anything else, for publicity purposes”, stated the President in his morning press conference from Cancun.
López Obrador expressed his disagreement with the new barrier, which would be built in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, during the meeting of the High Level Security Dialogue between Mexico and the United States, whose delegation was headed by Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in Mexico City on Thursday.
At the meeting, he said, Mexican authorities told US officials that the wall is not the solution to the migration issue, since the causes must first be addressed and development and employment opportunities must be guaranteed to the countries of origin.
“This problem cannot be solved only with coercive measures, detaining people, with barriers, with walls, militarizing the border, they already know very well what our position is and we have made progress,” said López Obrador.
He reiterated his recognition to Biden who, he said, is so far “the only US president” who has not built walls, although he pointed out that those 36 more kilometers are due to an authorization in the US budget, and it is the opposition of that country that is asking for those works to be carried out.
“It is pure publicity from the United States, with all due respect, whether Republican or Democrat, they make their stretch to ingratiate themselves with the Americans who do not have, I respectfully say, all the information,” he said.
He recalled that between Mexico and the United States there are 3,180 kilometers of border and many US presidents have tried to build walls to prevent migrants from crossing into that country.
“They started to build the wall 40 years ago and they have only built 1,200 kilometers, when are they going to finish? It’s pure publicity,” he emphasized.
He pointed out that US politicians grab Mexico as a “piñata” during election season. “We do not deserve this treatment and we are not going to be anyone’s plaything,” he reproached.
Mexico and Central America are facing an “unprecedented” migration wave, according to the International Organization for Migration, with up to 10,000 migrants arriving daily at the US border, according to López Obrador. EFE
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