Mexico says US vote response not due to fraud suspicions

MEXICO CITY: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that his decision to wait for an official US election result before congratulating Joe Biden does not mean he believes there was fraud.

"Waiting doesn't mean that we're going to endorse (claims) that there was fraud. We don't know that," Lopez Obrador said at his daily news conference.

"We want to act prudently. Let's wait for the authorities to resolve it. Then we will speak out," he said.

Lopez Obrador said Saturday that he would wait for "all legal issues" in the US presidential election to be settled before offering any congratulations, even as such messages poured in from many other world leaders.

Trump has launched a slew of legal challenges, complained of vote fraud without offering evidence, and refused to concede after the major US television networks announced Biden's win.

Before coming to power in 2018, Lopez Obrador himself twice alleged he was the victim of vote fraud after losing the 2006 and 2012 presidential races.

Trump sparked anger during his 2016, election campaign when he branded Mexican migrants "rapists" and drug dealers, and vowed to build a wall along the southern US border.

But Lopez Obrador managed to maintain cordial relations with the Republican leader -- and even visited him in July on his first foreign trip since taking office.

The left-wing populist said that whatever the official election result, he would seek solid ties with Washington.

"In no case, with Joe Biden or with Donald Trump, will there be a bad relationship between Mexico and the United States," Lopez Obrador said.