The Mexican government decided to reject the presidency of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), considering that there are no adequate conditions to hold office.
Through a letter delivered to the Deputy General Secretariat, headed by Ambassador Néstor Méndez (Belize), Mexico declined the task due to rotation.
In accordance with the statute of the Permanent Council of the OAS, the presidency of this body must be exercised successively by the titular representatives in accordance with the alphabetical order of the names in Spanish of the respective countries.
Periods start automatically on the first day of each quarter, according to the calendar.
Therefore, Mexico would have the presidency of the Permanent Council of the OAS between January 1 and March 31, 2021.
“The Permanent Mission of Mexico to the Organization of American States has the honor of addressing the Under-Secretary-General of the Organization of American States and referring to the exercise of the presidency of the Permanent Council of the United States. organization corresponding to Mexico from January 1 to March 31, 2021.
“In this regard, the Permanent Mission of Mexico reports that the Government of Mexico has decided not to exercise the presidency of this body, as it considers that there are no conditions within the organization to exercise this function. in the same way, it has the honor to request that this information be circulated between the Permanent Missions of the member States of the Organization “, Mexico exposed in the note delivered the past 21 December.
The Mexican government has not had a good relationship with OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, whose positions he has questioned in the face of internal political conflicts such as those in Venezuela and Bolivia.
The re-election of Luis Almagro to the secretary general of the OAS took place in the midst of various questions and positions, such as the Mexican one, that the process should not be carried out, as the spread of the Covid-19 was beginning to be experienced. in the world [marzo de 2020].
The election took place and Luis Almagro had a loose victory over Ecuadorian María Fernanda Espinosa, whom Mexico had supported.
Mexico, through its permanent representative to the OAS, Luz Elena Bans, accused Almagro of acting as a member state and not as a facilitator. He also questioned the re-election, considering that it was not correct.