"I hope that this ceremony is carried out tranquilly and in peace, for the well-being of the people of the US, our neighbors, our brothers," Lopez Obrador said today before the inauguration.
Mexico's president was among the last world leaders to recognize Biden, congratulating him only on 15 December after the 3 November election.
Close to 38mn Mexicans live and work in the US, highlighting the importance of today's inauguration for Mexico, Lopez Obrador said.
Lopez Obrador expects the Biden administration to support some form of legalizing the immigration status of undocumented Mexicans living in the US.
In the energy sector, allegations of preferential treatment for Mexico's state-owned companies and diverging views on renewable energy could challenge the relationship between the Biden and Lopez Obrador administrations.
Lopez Obrador likely had reason to regret former US president Donald Trump's exit on 20 January, after the two established a close working relationship despite heated rhetoric on both sides. Lopez Obrador satisfied US demands to curb the influx of Central American migrants across their shared border and had a mostly free hand in reversing implementation of some areas of Mexico's 2014 energy reform. The change had opened the sector to international investors, including many US companies.
Only in the waning days of the Trump administration did three US secretaries complain formally about Mexican regulatory agencies appearing to show favoritism to state energy companies.
This article is reproduced at www.argusmedia.com
