MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. Moscow and Mexico will cooperate more actively following the victory of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a candidate from the left-wing coalition "Together We’ll Make History", in the presidential election in Mexico, Dmitry Burykh, an expert from the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, told TASS on Monday.
"In my opinion, Russian-Mexican relations will get a boost. Actually, at the present moment Mexico is Russia’s second biggest partner in Latin America after Brazil, and I think that economic and political relations must get a leg-up, especially given the political affiliation of the new president," the expert said.
According to him, changes in the foreign policy and economy of Mexico, launched under his predecessor, will continue under Obrador, as they are associated with the construction of "real and virtual fences on the border with Mexico" by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
"The economy of Mexico is export-oriented, and the biggest part of these flows traditionally went to the US and Canada, i.e. partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)," he pointed out.
"Of course, due to the White House’s protectionist policy, the Mexicans have started drifting towards diversifying their economic and political relations, and I think, this tendency will continue with Obrador’s ascension to power," Burykh said.
He believes that in its foreign policy, Mexico may opt in favor of closer cooperation with the countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), "cooperation that has not been developing very actively". Besides, the expert believes Mexico will be cooperating more actively with countries of the Asia-Pacific Region, primarily with China.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a candidate from the left-wing coalition "Together We’ll Make History," won Sunday's presidential election in Mexico in his third attempt at the presidency. According to preliminary data of the National Electoral Institute, he won a landslide victory, outpacing his closest rival by more than 20% of the vote.