Republican legislator Marco Rubio is on the verge of becoming the next Secretary of State of the United States. It is expected that elected President Donald Trump will make this appointment official in the coming hours. If Rubio reaches this position, he will be in charge of U.S. foreign relations, which would pose a challenge for former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, with whom he has had confrontations in the past.
One of the main discrepancies between Rubio and López Obrador lies in their positions regarding leftist governments in countries like Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia, which Rubio has labeled as "dictatorships." Additionally, the Republican legislator has expressed concerns about the rule of law, democracy, and security, criticizing the Mexican president on several occasions.
Regarding diplomatic relations, Marco Rubio has been critical of López Obrador at key moments. For example, in 2021, when President Joe Biden praised the Mexican government at a trilateral meeting, Rubio accused López Obrador of supporting dictatorial leaders in other Latin American countries. Similarly, in 2022, following López Obrador's decision not to attend the Summit of the Americas, Rubio accused him of handing sections of Mexico over to organized crime.
The possible appointment of Marco Rubio as Secretary of State could represent a challenge for López Obrador, as the Republican legislator might have the necessary tools to back up his accusations about the alleged surrender of Mexico to drug cartels during the former Mexican president's term. According to journalist Pablo Hiriart, Rubio could prove what he has accused López Obrador of and put the Mexican government in a tough spot in that regard.
