Mexico opposition calls for legal action against Trump over wall
A Mexican opposition leader has called on his government to bring a lawsuit against US President Donald Trump at the UN over his plans for a wall on the border.
Two-time presidential candidate and leftist opposition leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador made the call on Wednesday as Trump signed an executive order to begin the construction of the wall on the border with Mexico aimed at keeping out illegal immigrants.
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“I respectfully suggest that the government of Mexico presents a lawsuit at the United Nations against the US government for violation of human rights and racial discrimination,” said the two-time presidential runner-up.
During his campaign run, Trump repeatedly pledged to build the wall, which will be stretched across the roughly 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) of the US-Mexico border.
Before signing the directive Trump also stressed that Mexico would reimburse “100 percent” of the wall’s costs.
Mexican president mulls canceling US trip
Following Trump’s move, a senior Mexican government official said that President Enrique Pena Nieto was “considering” the cancellation of a trip to Washington scheduled for later this months.
Earlier, several Mexican politicians and public officials called on Nieto to cancel the trip.
“If a [Mexican] presidential visit is being announced, he will be received there by having the door slammed in his face,” said Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, a former presidential candidate.
“I think the least we can do in these conditions would be not to show up, cancel the visit to the United States and find a dignified position for Mexico,” he added.
Meanwhile, in a short televised message, the Mexican president condemned the US president’s decision to order construction of the wall.
“I regret and condemn the decision of the United States to continue construction of a wall that, for years, has divided us instead of uniting us,” Nieto said.
“Mexico doesn’t believe in walls. I have said it over and over: Mexico will not pay for any wall,” he added.
Nieto had made it clear during a meeting with Trump in September last year that his country would not pay for the wall.
