Daily Wire misquotes Mexican presidential candidate - wrongly claims he called for 'mass exodus' to US

Paul Bois
Daily Wire
Mon, 25 Jun 2018 14:53 UTC

Andrés Manuel López Obrador

A Mexican presidential candidate has called upon his fellow countryman to flood the United States with a mass exodus, calling it a "human right."

According to a report from El Universal, candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) said the people should flee Mexico to find a life in the United States, which is a pretty dismal message coming from a presidential candidate. The equivalent would be President Trump telling Americans to flee for Canada.

"And soon, very soon - after the victory of our movement - we will defend all the migrants in the American continent and all the migrants in the world," Obrador said on Tuesday while calling on people to "leave their towns and find a life in the United States."

This fleeing to the United States would be "a human right we will defend."

The election stands less than two weeks away and Obrador is currently the frontrunner. He has run on a ticket opposing President Trump's policies toward Mexico. From the New York Times:

After 18 years of trying, and trying again, Mr. López Obrador, widely known as AMLO, may have a historic opportunity. He has said that his presidency will signal the start of Mexico's fourth revolution, following independence from Spain in the early 19th century, the liberal reforms later that century, and the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century.

He promises an austere, nationalist government that will fight corruption and inequality. He has said he will push constitutional amendments to change Mexico's energy policy, eliminate immunity for government employees and allow for mechanisms of direct democracy, such as presidential referendums. He has repeatedly compared himself to Mexican leaders like Benito Juárez, Francisco Madero and Lázaro Cárdenas, which is like an American candidate comparing himself to George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Comment: This is fake news. López Obrador did not say people 'should' start a mass exodus nor did he call on people to go to the US. The actual quote in El Universal reads:

"Y ya pronto, muy pronto, al triunfo de nuestro movimiento vamos a defender a los migrantes de todo el continente Americano y todos los migrantes del mundo que, por necesidad, tienen que abandonar sus pueblos para buscar la vida en Estados Unidos, es un derecho humano que vamos a defender", expresó.

which translates as:

"And soon, very soon, after the triumph of our movement, we are going to defend the migrants from all over the American continent and all the migrants of the world who, by necessity, have to leave their villages to seek a life in the United States, it is a human right that we are going to defend," he said.

"By necessity", meaning that given the lack of opportunities and conditions of poverty they are forced to seek a better life elsewhere. Now, one could rightly argue that seeking a better life might be considered a 'human right', but looking for it illegally in a different country is not. But AMLO certainly did not speak in the shocking terms that the Daily Wire pretended.