(Conservative Treehouse) – The media did not give this much attention; however, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador thoroughly, albeit diplomatically, dressed down President Joe Biden over his economic and energy policy during a Tuesday visit to the White House.
You might remember that, together with a host of south and central American leaders, Lopez-Obrador refused to attend Biden’s Latin-America summit last month. With that in mind Lopez-Obrador’s media remarks in the Oval Office are quite remarkable in their pointedness.
The video and audio of the meeting are tenuous, and the delay for interpretation makes following the flow of Lopez-Obrador’s comments a little challenging. However, if you read the transcript, you can clearly see how Lopez-Obrador is diplomatically undressing Biden over the economic issue of U.S. energy policy.
It would appear that Lopez-Obrador is not part of the great western reset and has no intention of inflicting the pain that is deliberately being created by other western leaders.
Now keep in mind that Lopez-Obrador is a soft-socialist (immigration). However, he is also a strong economic nationalist who has previously expressed a strong dislike for the influence of multinational corporations in Mexico. Lopez-Obrador is not a World Economic Forum (WEF) acolyte.
In these remarks, the Mexican president is very pointedly telling Biden that his U.S. energy policy is seriously flawed. It is really quite remarkable.
Lopez-Obrador tells Biden that Mexico will continue investing in expanded refining of gasoline, and he is willing to sell that gasoline to American companies because Joe Biden will not issue permits to expand gasoline refining capacity in the United States. Additionally, Lopez-Obrador affirms his position on further oil development in Mexico and then – here comes the kicker – offers to expand electricity sales to the U.S., including supplying Texas with electricity as both the Biden administration and Texas are not developing their own energy resources.
Lopez-Obrador is telling Biden that Mexico will increase energy subsidies to the U.S if Biden asks him to. Think about that.
The full White house transcript can be found here.
President Lopez-Obrador (as interpreted): Yes, I fully coincide with what you have proposed, President Biden. And I could summarize everything we’ve been saying in five basic items of cooperation.
Number one, since the energy crisis started, Mexico has used 72 percent of its crude and fuel oil exports to United States refineries – 800,000 barrels a day. Therefore, we decided that while we’re waiting for prices of gasoline to go down in the United States – and I hope that Congress approves or passes your proposal, Mr. President …
President Biden: It has gone down for 30 days in a row.
Lopez-Obrador: … of lowering – lowering prices, yes. That’s it.
In the meantime, while we’re waiting for prices to go down, we have decided that it was necessary for us to allow Americans who live close to the borderline [to cross over] so that they could go and get their gasoline on the Mexican side at lower prices.
And right now, a lot of the drivers – a lot of the Americans – are going to Mexico, to the Mexican border, to get their gasoline.
However, we could increase our inventories immediately. We are committed to guaranteeing twice as much supply of fuel. That would be considerable support.
Right now, a gallon of regular costs $4.78 average on this side of the border. And in our territory, $3.12.
Let me clarify something, and I also want to take advantage of this opportunity to thank you, Mr. President. Most of this gasoline, we are producing it in the Pemex refinery that you allowed us to buy in Deer Park, Texas.
Two, we are putting at the disposal – or sending at the disposal of your administration – over 1,000 kilometers of gas pipelines throughout the southern border with Mexico to transport gas from Texas to New Mexico, Arizona, and California for a volume that can generate up to 750 megawatts of electric energy and supply about 3 million people.
Three, even though the USMCA [United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement] has made progress for the elimination of tariffs, there are still some others that could be immediately suspended. And we could do the same with some regulations, regulatory measures, and tedious procedures or red tape in terms of trade related to foodstuffs and other products so that we can lower prices for consumers in both our countries, always being very careful in the protection of health and the environment.
Four, starting a private-public investment plan between our two countries to produce all those goods that will be strengthening our markets so that we can avoid having importations from other regions or continents.
In our country, we shall continue producing oil throughout the energy transition. With the U.S. investors, we are going to be establishing gas-liquefying plants, fertilizer plants, and we shall continue promoting the creation of solar energy parks in the state of Sonora and other border states as well.
And we’re going to accomplish this with the support of thermal electric plants and also through transmission lines to produce energy in the domestic market, as well as for exports, to neighboring states in the American union, as for instance, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
It’s also important to mention that two months ago, we took the sovereign decision of nationalizing lithium in Mexico. This is a fundamental mineral, a fundamental input to advance in our purpose not to depend on fossil fuels. And this will be available for the technological modernization of the automotive industry among our great countries – the countries of the USMCA.
Five, orderly migration flow and allowing arrival in the United States of workers, technicians, and professionals of different disciplines. I’m talking about Mexicans and Central Americans with temporary work visas to ensure not paralyzing the economy because of the lack of labor force.
The purpose of this plan would be to support and to have the right labor force that will be demanded by the plan you proposed and that was passed by Congress of using $1 trillion for the construction of infrastructure works.
Mexican President Lopez-Obrador is offering to bail out the United States energy crisis. A crisis that Joe Biden has created. We have officially gone through the mirror. This is jaw-dropping.
Reprinted with permission from Conservative Treehouse.