Mexican Ambassador to Ecuador Raquel Serur Smeke. Photo: Google

By KELIN DILLON

Following Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s (AMLO) disparaging remarks surrounding Ecuador’s 2023 elections and the murder of its presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, Ecuador officially declared Mexico’s ambassador to the country, Raquel Serur Smeke, persona non grata on Thursday, April 4.

López Obrador made his controversial comments during his daily morning press conference on Wednesday, April 3, purported that Ecuador’s media “created a rarefied atmosphere of violence” by accusing the presidential race’s leading candidate, Luisa González, of conspiring in the murder of rival candidate, Villavicencio.

“And I am exposing this so that the owners of the media and those who participate in all these smear campaigns assume their responsibility because we are all responsible and we are all obliged to act with integrity and principles,” said AMLO at the time.

Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry subsequently responded to López Obrador’s comments by issuing a statement declaring Smeke no longer welcome in the country.

“In the context of the recent and very unfortunate statements of the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, regarding the 2023 elections in Ecuador and the assassination of the presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, the government of the Republic of Ecuador has decided, in accordance with the Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, to declare the Ambassador of Mexico in Quito, Raquel Serrur Smeke, ‘persona non grata,’” said the ministry’s statement, noting that Serrur Smeke is now required to leave Ecuador. 

“Ecuador is still grieving for that unfortunate event that caused shock in Ecuadorian society and threatened democracy, peace and security,” continued the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, Villavicencio’s widow Verónica Sarauz took to social media to likewise condemn AMLO’s comments and request that her husband’s memory be left in peace.

“The statement by the president of Mexico regarding the assassination of my husband Fernando Villavicencio is regrettable,” wrote Sarauz. “The progressive forces that he defends so much are linked to organized crime and drug trafficking. They are officially suspected of participating as intellectual authors of the horrendous crime, which caused a profound impact on democracy. of the country.”

“He does not have the moral quality to talk about democracies when in his country he maintains links with groups that respond to these same groups that operate in our country,” concluded Sarauz.