Speech by Alicia Barcena, Mexican Foreign Minister, on the occasion of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly
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00:00President, distinguished delegates, I would like to convey to you the greetings of our
00:08President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and I'm honored to come back to this General
00:13Assembly, where it was my home for many years, to address you now as representative of Mexico.
00:21We are facing a turning point.
00:24The neoliberal hegemony has shown its palpable failure, given a model of extractivist development
00:31that only socializes losses, privatizes gains, impoverishes people, and devastates the planet.
00:40The arms races and wars are once again part of international geopolitics.
00:44The devastation of the environment is only continuing.
00:47Frustration and miscontent are fueling extremism in proposals that deny people's rights and
00:53once again deny democratic values.
00:55The institutions of the international system are losing legitimacy.
01:01This is what the Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, was referring to in his address
01:05when he spoke about a purgatory of polarity and instability, which are symptoms of civilization
01:12crises and stages of transition in which the old has not yet died and the new has not yet
01:19been born.
01:20The similarities between the current times and the interwar period in the last century
01:26is increasingly evident.
01:27They are also increasingly concerning because we know how things turned out then, terrible
01:33years in which the global production became a conveyor belt for war, where humanity once
01:41just became one more good.
01:43However, history also teaches us that in these crises with bravery and courage, it is possible
01:49to change the destructive path of destiny.
01:53In the interwar period last century, Mexico's foreign policy wrote an exceptional chapter
02:00showing humanism, solidarity, and respect for international law, which are characteristic
02:05of us.
02:07Mexico gave itself the task of upholding the value of the League of Nations, justice, self-determination,
02:13integrity, independence, and equality between its members.
02:19With these flags, we categorically condemned the arms race, the invasions of Manchuria,
02:27Austria, and Ethiopia, and the progress – the advance of fascism in Europe.
02:34And after the Second World War, Mexico led the Declaration of Latin America and Caribbean
02:41as being an area free, a zone free of nuclear weapons.
02:46Today, like them, Mexico is trying to build emancipatory alternatives.
02:52This is part of our Mexican humanism, which is the result of our millennium-old history
02:59and compass in our project for national transformation, building a fair, equal, and fraternal society,
03:07a moral economy that guarantees the equal distribution of income and respect for the
03:13environment.
03:14This is a revolution of consciences which has made it possible for us to change the
03:22increasingly precarious living conditions that our people had suffered before, during,
03:27and now.
03:28Things are different under the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
03:33Now, more than 9.5 million Mexicans have been brought out of poverty in five years,
03:39and the Gini coefficient has reached a historic low.
03:42The minimum wage has gone up by 135%, which has dispelled the inflationary myths of those
03:48who wish to maintain the status quo.
03:50We've also got rid of tax breaks, strengthening the public coffers, and putting an end to
03:55corruption and tax evasion and avoidance.
03:59All of this has been done against a backdrop of responsible public finances, which has
04:05made Mexico a destination for investment.
04:08We've also taken unprecedented measures at the constitutional level to recognize the
04:11rights of indigenous peoples, to guarantee the equality and political participation of
04:15women, and also to leave a clear legacy of social achievements in our constitution, so
04:22that nobody can deprive future generations of these things.
04:27These premises are also reflected in our foreign policy, because Mexico is a country
04:31of migrants, and we are no strangers to any stage of the migratory cycle.
04:36In line with our experience, we have rolled out the Mexican model for human mobility.
04:41This is a proposal that aims to manage migration comprehensively in a holistic way, to deal
04:47with its structural causes and with hemispheric cooperation.
04:52The model has five pillars – empowering Mexican communities abroad and advocating
04:58the United States to adopt ways for them to be fully regularized, secondly, to beef up
05:04and broaden cooperation for development in communities of origin and return, three, to
05:10address the political factors and economic sanctions that prevent development, hamper
05:17development and lead to irregular migration, and fourth, to bring about safe, orderly and
05:21regular ways for people to move to get work.
05:27We have said it loud and clear.
05:29Migration is not a problem, it is a phenomenon.
05:31It's not a crime, and migrants are not criminals.
05:35The problem is the factors that lead people to leave their homes and the dangers that
05:40they're facing when they don't find legal ways to migrate and practices that criminalize
05:45them.
05:46From this rostrum, we rightly recognize the contributions of more than 37 million Mexicans
05:52who live in the United States.
05:55They are very able workers who provide $324 billion per year to this country's GDP,
06:03and they are critical for the economy of both countries.
06:08We have been able to change the narrative and conversation with the United States to
06:11focus on the structural causes.
06:15We have also convened leaders of the countries of origin in the region in Palenque with strategic
06:21agreements that have been able to reduce clashes on the border between Mexico and the United
06:26States by 66%.
06:29We also said it – said loud and clear that development and stability are – will not
06:33be the norm of the international system unless we guarantee the rights and inclusion of women.
06:40As the first country in the Global South to adopt a feminist foreign policy, we hosted
06:46the third ministerial conference on feminist foreign policies, and in the declaration,
06:52the conference recognized a range of commitments that are reflected in the Pact of the Future.
07:00But just this week, only nine women heads of state and government actually spoke at
07:05this rostrum – only nine out of 133 countries.
07:09The world cannot make headway without half of its population.
07:14Never again anything about us without us, because the future will be feminist or it
07:21will not.
07:23As Nicholas Stern said, climate change is the greatest market failure of all time, and
07:27it is also the greatest global challenge that we have.
07:30The only way to mitigate it is to take collective and simultaneous measures.
07:36These require financing and they require that countries fulfill shared, common, but
07:43differentiated responsibilities.
07:45We reiterate our commitment to the Paris Agreement, the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal
07:50framework and the Biodiversity Convention, and the synergies between the three Rio conventions.
07:59We need to restore the integrity of our ecosystems as providers of essential goods and services
08:05for the economy and for social well-being and also for climate stability.
08:10We have taken part in the consultative processes of the International Tribunal on the Law of
08:15the Sea, ITLOS, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights, and the International Court
08:19of Justice on states' responsibility vis-Ã -vis climate change.
08:24We will continue to work to achieve the ratification of the agreement on the conservation of marine
08:32biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and to maintain the moratorium on mining extraction
08:39on the seabed.
08:41The security context in the world, friends, is changing enormously.
08:47We are alarmed by the growing various threats to international peace and security, particularly
08:54the violations of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the
09:00increasing risks of a nuclear war, the greatest threat that humanity has ever faced.
09:08Against this backdrop, we defend the territorial integrity in all geographical contexts, including
09:15in Ukraine and Palestine.
09:18We are in favor of a political solution and negotiations that include both parties, Russia
09:23and Ukraine.
09:24In this regard, we welcome the initiative of Brazil and China on their being a group
09:30for peace set up in New York.
09:34The war has gone on too long and it affects us all.
09:37We are all losers, apart from the mercenaries of death, apart from those arms companies
09:44that are making money out of suffering and the losses of millions of people, children
09:50and the destruction of entire families.
09:52Against this backdrop, we need to redouble our efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.
09:58Their devastating effects cannot be contained in space or time, which is why they are contrary
10:06to international law and the survival of humanity.
10:09But firearms are also a source of violence and insecurity throughout the world.
10:14Mexico is suffering from the flow of more than half a million weapons into its territory
10:18every year.
10:20They flow in illegally.
10:22The arms industry needs to be held accountable for its negligence, and Mexico has turned
10:27to the courts with this in mind.
10:30We are convinced that the arms industry is a key part of the expansion of this problem,
10:37as well as how to solve it.
10:39Mexico is well aware of how the illegal flow of weapons is the other side of the coin of
10:45the illegal flow of drugs and organized crime, in particular in our country's northern border.
10:53Friends, humanity in Gaza has shown itself to be bankrupt given the inaction of the international
10:59community.
11:00More than 70 percent of the victims of this war have been women and children.
11:05More than 85 percent of civilians have had to flee their homes.
11:10Most of the people there lack access to food, water, and electricity.
11:15That is why we requested to intervene in the case brought by South Africa before the ICJ
11:22on the implementation of the International Convention on the Application of the Convention
11:26on Genocide.
11:27And together with Chile, we referred the situation in Palestine to the ICC, and we also sent
11:33an amicus brief to the court to highlight the court's jurisdiction.
11:39We reject the false dilemma between sterile violence of terrorism and the disproportionate
11:46punishment wrought by governments who are blinded by the double standard.
11:51To make the two-state solution a reality, the United Nations resolutions need to be
11:55adhered to, as well as the ruling of the ICJ on practices in the occupied Palestinian territory.
12:04The institutions and rules underpinning our international system are the last line before
12:10barbarism.
12:12That is why we categorically condemn the flagrant violations by the current Ecuadorian government
12:20of the most basic standards of international coexistence and the principles of the United
12:24Nations Charter with their violent, illegal break-in of our embassy in Quito on the night
12:29of the 5th of April, the attack on our diplomats, and the illegal abduction of one person to
12:36whom Mexico had given political asylum who remains a prisoner and who is seriously ill.
12:42We reiterate our thanks to the international community for the widespread condemnation
12:47of this fact.
12:48We cannot forget it or normalize it.
12:51Dear friends, we know one thing, which is that the United Nations Security Council needs
12:58urgent reform.
13:01Mexico proposes eliminating the veto entirely, and until that is not achieved, at least limiting
13:08the veto in cases of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
13:15Our region, Latin America and the Caribbean, is one of our priorities because the progress
13:19of any of our countries means the progress of all.
13:25stability, democracy, and in so doing, we have proposed the peaceful settlement of disputes
13:32and we have been guarantors in the peace process between the Government of Colombia and the
13:37ELN, and we have hosted two cycles of negotiations.
13:43We've also hosted talks between the Government of Venezuela, the Democratic Unitary Platform,
13:48and the United States.
13:50Following principles of solidarity, self-determination, and the well-being of people, we will continue
13:55to be involved in supporting Haiti in rebuilding its stability and security.
14:02We reiterate our condemnation of the economic embargo imposed on Cuba for more than six
14:07decades.
14:08This violates international law, and we believe that Cuba must immediately be taken off the
14:16United States list of countries alleged to be sponsors of terrorism.
14:20Mexico, honoring its tradition of asylum throughout our history, offers political asylum to people
14:27who are threatened for their lives and freedom.
14:30We provide refuge to tens of thousands of asylum applicants and additional protection
14:35as a country that opens its doors to those who need it.
14:38Dear friends, on the 1st of October, we will inaugurate the administration of the first
14:44female president in 200 years of our country, Dr. Claudia Scheinbaum.
14:51With her leadership, the humanist government will – indeed.
14:59Thank you very much.
15:00The first woman.
15:02With her leadership, the humanist government will deepen efforts to combat poverty and
15:08inequality.
15:09We'll focus on well-being and the shared prosperity, because equality for women has
15:17now arrived, and protecting the environment and respecting our national heritage.
15:24We have to work together.
15:26Our foreign policy will continue to deploy our highest values, focusing on our roots
15:31and our struggles.
15:33We offered hope in the face of fear, solidarity in the face of hatred, and humanism in the
15:38face of devastation.
15:40Ours is a world that offers a backdrop that is somewhat dispiriting.
15:46Citizens around the world are finding little that gives rise to optimism.
15:50Every day we see on our screens scenes of cruelty and the almost arithmetic mechanical
15:57reporting of how many people have died.
16:00Many people are looking at the United Nations now, at this House, and legitimately looking,
16:08given the intelligence that you can see in these rooms, looking for us to be in line
16:16with our promise and to ensure that dialogue and diplomacy can prevail.
16:21And rightly, they're frustrated to see that rather than brotherhood, rather than the collective
16:26defense of human dignity, rather than applying equal standards in international law, instead
16:32of this, factional geopolitical interests are being imposed and shameful double standards.
16:39And without any kind of shame, there is this naked empire of force being used, which is
16:46another way of saying the obscene concentration of power in the handful of a few who benefit
16:51from the status quo, the privileged and those who find this situation profitable, the misery
16:58and blood of so many people, simple externalities that are not reflected in their balance sheets.
17:05We, the nations of the world, built this House, the United Nations, to forge a different path.
17:11And today we say that in spite of all of its shortcomings, it is this civilizational work
17:16that deserves our commitment and, if necessary, reasonable alternatives.
17:23These are the foundations that the human family laid down after the two world wars, the tool
17:30that we had to use.
17:34But today we see it appears to be impotent, inert, faced with the rage of barbarism, helpless
17:40given that its mission is being frustrated.
17:45We need to sow new seeds of hope, changing governance and architecture, because almost
17:50decades on, the world, its challenges and its physiognomy can no longer be recognized
17:57in a mirror that obstinately reflects the world of 1945.
18:03We need to recover trust in multilateralism and its institutions, in agreement and cooperation,
18:10in the belief that in spite of our rich diversity of colors and geographies, we are brothers
18:16and sisters belonging to the same community, the same planet, with the same destiny.
18:21That is why the Pact of the Future convenes us to renew this commitment, to vanquish fear
18:27and mistrust, and to recover legitimacy in this organization to which we belong.
18:34In this path, in the building of a fair world, you will always find in Mexico a loyal companion,
18:41a committed partner, and a fraternal brother.
18:44We need to take ownership of today to build tomorrow.
18:49And as Jose Emilio Pacheco said on the eve of another era in 1968, he said, one world
18:56is falling apart, another world is being born.
18:59The darkness surrounds us, but the light is glimmering.
19:03He said, there is no hope, but there is life, and everything belongs to us.
19:08And I would also like to quote Eduardo Galeano, who said, what if we start to exercise the
19:15never-before-proclaimed right to dream?
19:18What if we are delirious for a while at the beginning of this millennium, forcing ourselves
19:22to look away from the infamy to dream another world, a world where justice and freedom,
19:29and where the enemy sisters condemned to live separately will once again sit side-by-side,
19:35one where we'll be compatriots and compatriots of all of those who are determined to seek
19:41justice, wherever they may have been born, and wherever they may live, or when they may
19:48have lived, without any regard being given at all to the borders of the map or time.
19:55I thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Mexico.