MEXICO CITY, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday said he put ties with the United States Embassy in Mexico City "on pause" after U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar criticized his administration's proposed judicial reform.
"They have to learn to respect Mexico's sovereignty, it's no small matter," Lopez Obrador told reporters at the National Palace in Mexico City during his usual daily press conference.
Ties with the embassy will stay paused until the diplomatic outpost clears up what was said regarding the reform initiative, said the president, adding the bilateral relationship with the U.S. government continues as always.
On Aug. 22, Salazar said the reform's proposal to have judges elected by popular vote instead of being political appointments, as they are now, represented a risk to democracy and would weaken economic integration.
Lopez Obrador's administration sent a diplomatic note to the United States on Friday, following Salazar's remarks. ■
