KEYPOINTS OF PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR’S MORNING PRESS CONFERENCE

March 9-14, 2023

Political Agenda

• 8M: The President expressed his solidarity with the women’s struggle. He recognized the important role they play in Mexico, both those who act in public service in positions at the Secretary level and those who do it from their villages. Today, out of 25 million people benefiting from welfare programs, 13 million are women. In the scholarship program (11 million) the majority are women, the same case as in the pension for senior citizens; they also participate in programs such as Sembrando Vida and Produccion para el Bienestar (Sowing Life and Production for Wellbeing).

• Judicial Branch Budget: The President informed that the Judicial Branch maintains a trust fund of 20 billion pesos and has instructed the Secretary of the Interior to request INAI to ask INE for information on how much money they have in their trusts and what use those resources have had. In addition, he compared the budget managed by the Presidency of the Republic in 2018 with last year’s budget, which had a significant decrease, compared to the Judicial Branch, where excessive expenses in pensions, private medical expenses insurance, support funds, among others, were identified.

KEYPOINTS OF PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR’S MORNING PRESS CONFERENCE

Bilateral Relation

• Meeting with US legislators: The President revealed that he received a letter from President Biden reiterating that his government will continue to treat Mexico “on an equal footing”. He noted that today, March 13, he will meet with U.S. legislators to discuss the TMEC issue, and said that on March 19 he will meet with other U.S. legislators to go to the Isthmus and Veracruz to show them the projects being developed.

• U.S.-Mexico bilateral relationship: The President reported on his meeting with the White House Homeland Security Advisor, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, where they discussed the issue of fentanyl, weapons and respect for Mexico’s sovereignty. In addition, he announced that on Monday a meeting will be held in Washington presided by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, with all Mexican consuls in the United States to report on the government’s actions to prevent the entry of fentanyl, and that a record amount of drugs have been confiscated during his administration. He also mentioned that Mexicans residing in the consulates will be denounced and informed about the initiative to be promoted in the U.S. Congress for the intervention of the armed forces in Mexico.

Security

• Insecurity and relationship with the United States: President Lopez Obrador agrees with Ambassador Ken Salazar on the importance of ensuring security and combating drug trafficking in Mexico and the United States. An investigation into what hap- pened in Matamoros remains open and the president asks not to engage in politicking. Education programs are promoted to combat the fentanyl problem. The president criticizes arms trafficking from the United States and Genaro Garcia Luna’s relationship with U.S. officials and U.S. agencies must be investigated to know the full truth.

• SEDENA spying program: President Lopez Obrador responded to questions about the report on SEDENA’s alleged spying on civilians, saying that an investigation has to be done but that there is no illegality. He affirmed that SEDENA is not spying, but intelligence, with the purpose of knowing the movements and operations of organized crime. He pointed out that espionage refers to political persecution, such as that carried out by Claudio X. Gonzalez and the Berlin group against the current government when they were opponents, while intelligence is used to prevent acts of sabotage and crimes. He also mentioned that today there will be a report on an alleged purchase of Pegasus, and that CNI Director General Audomaro Martinez will not be present at the morning conference.

• Tamaulipas March: Lopez Obrador informed that a march is being called on social networks in Tamaulipas and Nuevo Laredo to supposedly defend the