The Chamber of Deputies, through the social networks of the Congress Channel, announced a free broadcast with the aim of witnessing the installation of the Mexico-Russia friendship group.
This meeting will be face-to-face and will begin on March 23 at 11:00am, and can be seen through Facebook Live, Twitter, as well as the official channel of the Congress.
However, the decision attracted several criticisms from both deputies, journalists, opponents and civil society, who considered it a mistake in the midst of Russia's current invasion of Ukraine.
The main critic of the friendship group was journalist Joaquín López-Dóriga, who through his social networks, assured that representatives of the Fourth Transformation in Congress “are aligned with Putin at this time of global rejection.”
“This is how this transformation is defined,” said the presenter on Twitter, reaching 1,294 reactions of “Like”, and his post was shared on more than 900 occasions.
The deputy Gerardo Gaudiano also joined, who said that “it is shameful that we insist on installing this group. We cannot be so insensitive to what the people of Ukraine are experiencing.”
León Krauze did not lag behind the announcement of the Chamber of Deputies either, and used his social networks to send the following message:
“The Russian government began a heinous, unjustifiable war against an independent, sovereign and democratic people. A war that has displaced ten million and left three and a half million refugees, including at least one million children. Meanwhile, the Mexican deputies...”
A friendship group is a form of committee or legislative commission that has among its objectives the monitoring and attention of bilateral links with assemblies, congresses, parliaments or other bodies of popular representation of countries with which Mexico has diplomatic relations.
The validity of these groups is tied to the legislature within which they are formed, and can be established once the next legislature begins in the Mexican Congress of the Union.
The last record of the establishment of a friendship group with the Russian country dates from the LXIV Legislature, in 2019, in which its ambassador assured that they would seek to eliminate the visa in order to promote and increase tourism.
In that year, Russia's ambassador to Mexico, Viktor Koronelli, assured that Mexico is the second largest trading partner in Latin America for his nation, since economic exchange is around $3 billion.
On the other hand, the rules of procedure of the Chamber of Deputies indicate that friendship groups will be able to maintain permanent contact, as well as a constant exchange of views on various topics of interest.
In addition, another of its objectives will be to strengthen relations based on the exchange of parliamentary experiences, provide information on common issues and issues, as well as the promotion of cultural and historical exchange and dissemination.
Through these, it is also possible to extend invitations to delegations from various foreign parliaments to come to Mexico, in agreement with the President and the Political Coordination Board.
The most recent group installed was that of Mexico-People's Republic of China only on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. The president was Morena's deputy, Yeidckol Polevnsky, who stressed that this Asian nation is the country's second largest trading partner.
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