Mexico’s federal government has been criticized for inviting representatives of the Russian military to participate in the September Independence Day parade in Mexico City.
“It is an insult and a serious mistake,” said Alejandro Moreno, leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). “Opening the doors to them is endorsing their invasive actions.”
The Ukrainian ambassador to Mexico, Oksana Dramaretska, also condemned the presence of Russian soldiers in the parade. “Their boots and hands of war criminals are stained with blood. How coherent is (President) Andrés Manuel López Obrador?” she posted on social media.
López Obrador, who has insisted Mexico will remain neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, defended the involvement of the Russian Army in the parade. “All the governments with which Mexico has relations were invited. It’s always been done,” he said.
Many commentators and analysts believe Lopez Obrador privately favors Russia in the war. Unlike most other Western nations, Mexico has declined to impose sanctions on Russia, while the president has criticized the United States for providing aid to Ukraine and the European Parliament for sending arms to Kyiv.
Nonetheless, Mexico joined a U.N. General Assembly resolution blaming Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and urging an immediate cease-fire and protection for millions of civilians.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War which began in 2014. This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at U.N. headquarters in New York for the first time since the conflict broke out, calling on world leaders to show unity in the face of Russia’s continued “aggression” in Ukraine.