AMLO accuses the United States of greed, vaccine hoarding
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador accused the United States and other nations of monopolizing the vaccine supply.
AMLO also praised the generosity of Russia and China after the United States failed to share its COVID-19 vaccines.
The Biden administration has said it won’t be sending COVID-19 vaccines to Mexico anytime soon. The US government is focused first on getting its own population protected against the virus, which has killed more than 500,000 Americans.
Earlier: AMLO gives some of Mexico’s vaccines to poorer countries
According to López Obrador, 80% of all vaccine doses are held by 10 countries while the remaining 20% is being shared by 120 nations, and 80 are yet to receive any.
“This is a great injustice, and I ask, where is the United Nations in all of this? Whatever happened to the fraternity among nations they are always going on about, it is pure demagoguery,” said López Obrador in his morning press conference.
In January, Mexico agreed to share some of its COVID-19 supply with 19 other nations under the condition that they return an equal amount of doses when they can.
Earlier: Critics say ALMO is politicizing vaccine rollout
World Health Organization General Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the world was on the brink of a “catastrophic moral failure” because of unfair COVID vaccine policies.
Mexico has been leaning heavily on China and Russia for its supply of COVID-19 vaccines. That sparked concerns in the United States that having Mexico cozy up with the two countries could have long-lasting diplomatic and geopolitical complications.
“China’s health diplomacy is farsighted and strategic. Beijing has been linking measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in aid recipient countries with the prospect of post-pandemic cooperation. Above all, Beijing wants to be perceived internationally as a responsible great power,” said China specialist Moritz Rudolf.
Senior Editor Carlos Rosado van der Gracht is a Mexican expedition/Canadian photographer and adventure leader. Born in Mérida, Carlos holds multimedia, philosophy, and translation degrees from universities in Mexico, Canada and Norway.
