Mexico’s president-elect thanks Trump, says pair will ‘reach an understanding’

Mexico’s president-elect, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on Monday thanked President Trump for congratulating him on his election win and said the pair will “reach an understanding,” according to The Associated Press.

López Obrador, who triumphed in Sunday’s presidential election over the ruling PRI party, is a leftist who has previously criticized Trump. He wrote a book titled “Oye, Trump” (“Listen Up, Trump”), which criticizes the U.S. president’s plans to build a wall along the U.S. southern border.

Trump tweeted his congratulations to López Obrador on Monday.

“I look very much forward to working with [Lopez Obrador],” Trump tweeted on Monday. “There is much to be done that will benefit both the United States and Mexico!”

Congratulations to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on becoming the next President of Mexico. I look very much forward to working with him. There is much to be done that will benefit both the United States and Mexico!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2018

López Obrador described the congratulations as “very respectful.”

“We are never going to disrespect the U.S. government, because we want them to respect us,” López Obrador said in an interview with the news network Televisa, according to the AP. “At the appropriate moment, we are going to get in touch, to reach an understanding.”

Commentators have noted that López Obrador’s stance on Trump did not determine his victory, with more local issues such as crime and corruption taking precedence in his campaign.  

Some have even drawn parallels between López Obrador and Trump, as each leader takes a strong stance against “the elites” in their countries.

“[Mexico] will never be the piñata of any foreign government,” Lopez Obrador said at a rally on Wednesday.