This article, which examines Mexico’s approach to Ukraine and China, is part of an ongoing series on U.S. statecraft and the Global South developed by the Carnegie Endowment’s American Statecraft Program. For other articles in the series, click here.
Under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico has taken positions counter to Washington’s preferences on Ukraine, where domestic politics have encouraged López Obrador to mark distance from Washington. By criticizing the U.S. approach to Ukraine, López Obrador has played to deep domestic skepticism about America. He has also telegraphed that Mexico marches to its own beat and identifies with the Global South, not always with Washington—despite its close economic relationship. In contrast, Mexico shares common ground with the United States on China and stands to benefit from the relocation of manufacturing from Asia to North America brought on by U.S. efforts to de-risk from Chinese supply chains.1 The likely victory of Claudia Sheinbaum, who comes from the ruling MORENA party, in the June 2 presidential election suggests continuity in Mexican foreign policy even after López Obrador’s tenure.
Mexico’s Approach to the War in Ukraine
Mexico firmly rejects Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and sympathizes with Ukraine’s struggle.2 It has supported all Ukraine-related UN resolutions to date, except the resolution to suspend Russia’s membership in the Human Rights Committee, on which it abstained….
