The decision to grant former Bolivian President Morales asylum could spark controversy in Mexico and affect relations with the United States.

After a surprise resignation on November 10, former Bolivian President Evo Morales phoned Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard to seek asylum in the country and was approved. "After consulting with Interior Minister Olga Sanchez Cordero, the Foreign Ministry decided to grant Morales asylum for humanitarian reasons," Ebrard said.

Mexico's Foreign Minister welcomed Morales at the airport in Mexico City on Monday, where the former Bolivian president thanked Mexico for "saving his life."

However, Jorge Luis Santa Cruz, a professor of journalism at Anahuac University in Mexico, said the decision to grant Morales asylum could have a major impact on both Mexico's internal political situation and international relations.

According to Cruz, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has "opened another front" on Mexican politics when "holding out" to Morales. He judged that granting the former asylum to the former Bolivian president was of no benefit to Obrador, who was sharply criticized by the opposition due to a series of controversial decisions, such as the release of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, son notorious drug lord Joaquin Guzman (El Chapo).

"The permission of Morales to come to Mexico is a sign of reaffirming Obrador's position of favoring left-wing support, raising concerns not only in the National Action Party, which is a major conservative Mexican party, but also And for the private sector and businessmen, "Cruz added.

Scholar Luis Huacuja from Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM) disagrees with this view, saying that the Obrador administration has long expressed a "strong stance against coups", while they say what just happened in Bolivia "is clearly a coup".

According to him, President Obrador's permission to grant Morales asylum does not go against his pledge not to interfere in other domestic affairs. "On the contrary, it represents a consistent position of the Mexican government in foreign policy, which is non-intervention and protection of human rights, although sometimes combining both elements is very difficult," Huacuja said.

The scholar said the decision to extend his arms to Morales was the result of "an unusual situation", after Mexico thought a military intervention had taken place in Bolivia. "It is practically palpable, indisputable," he said.

In addition to internal issues, Cruz said that the grant of asylum to the former Bolivian president could greatly affect Mexico-US relations, especially in the context that US President Donald Trump is stepping up his campaign for re-election. his with anti-leftist messages.

"Allowing Morales to refugee is clearly synonymous with challenging the President of the United States. To pressure China, Trump may delay the ratification of the T-MEC free trade agreement (aka USMCA) between the two. countries with Canada, or impose additional duties on Mexican imports, "the expert said, noting the" threat from the border wall ".

Mexico, meanwhile, appears to be less concerned about this risk. At a press conference on November 12, Secretary of State Ebrard said the US may not agree with Mexico's decision, but will respect it.

"Relations with the United States have been at their best in recent years. I don't think there will be any complaints about Mexico's position on this issue," he replied when asked whether the refugee grant would be successful. Morales's distress would strain the Trump administration.

Ebrard also said that the T-MEC agreement belongs to the field of commerce, completely unrelated to the decision to grant asylum to Morales, adding that this does not affect the agreement's ratification process. Scholar Huacuja also agrees with this view, saying that Mexico does not necessarily have to take the same position with the US, as in relations with Cuba.

Secretary of State Ebrard also strongly criticized the Organization of American States (OAS) for their silence when the Bolivian army asked Morales to resign. Earlier, an OAS election monitoring committee declared the vote counting results on October 20 in Bolivia "inappropriate" and recommended the country to hold a second round of elections. However, Morales contends this is a "coup" plot against democracy.

The granting of asylum to Morales, as well as criticism of the OAS, is said to represent a dramatic shift in Mexico, which has pledged to remain neutral on issues. In line with what happened during the Bolivian elections in October, this development once again shows the lack of solidarity and trust among OAS members, Professor Cruz said.