Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Esteban Moctezuma took issue with Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz's accusation that there was a "breakdown of the rule of law" in Mexico and ripped the U.S. lawmaker for objecting to the certification of President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory.
During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week, Cruz criticized Mexico for the recent killings of journalists and politicians in the North American country, saying there was "deepening civil unrest in Mexico and the breakdown there of civil society, the breakdown of the rule of law."
Moctezuma responded to Cruz by explaining that "all of the political parties" in Mexico accepted the results of its recent elections.
"You spoke about a 'breakdown of the rule of law'. I invite you to study what happened in our federal elections last June," Moctezuma said Thursday in a letter. "All political parties, with no exception, accepted the results and kept moving forward to strengthen our democracy and freedom of expression."
Moctezuma was referring to Cruz's refusal to accept Biden as the winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Cruz was among several Republican lawmakers who expressed concern about the integrity of the 2020 election and the validity of its outcome, and objected to the certification of Biden's win following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, when demonstrators attempted to delay the counting of electoral votes.
"When you mention politicians and journalists killed in Mexico, you add your voice to many, including President López Obrador, who condemn these terrible actions and act accordingly to address them," Moctezuma's letter read.
But Mexican President Andés Manuel López Obrador has not always accepted election results.
In 2006, when results showed he lost the presidential election, López Obrador urged his supporters to block a boulevard in Mexico City for weeks and even had an inauguration to declare himself as the country's "legitimate president."