Mexican president breaks with other world leaders, refusing to acknowledge Biden win until election is finalized

Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Wednesday that he was still waiting to congratulate a winner of the U.S. presidential election, making him part of a quickly shrinking list of world leaders who have not congratulated and recognized Joe Biden as president-elect.

Reuters reports that López Obrador said it would be wrong to offer any congratulations until the electoral process was completed. The Electoral College is expected to vote on Dec. 14 and Congress will tally the results in January.

“We do not agree with offering congratulations in advance,” López Obrador told reporters at a news conference. “What’s the best thing? For us to wait.”

López Obrador earlier this month told reporters he would hold off on recognition until Biden’s win was officially announced, casting off concerns that his position could taint his relationship with Biden.

“Also, we are not a colony, we are a sovereign country, the government of Mexico is not the dummy of any foreign government,” he added.

Chinese president Xi Jinping contacted Biden on Wednesday for the first time since the election to congratulate him on his win. Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan also congratulated Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

The Mexican president had previously stated that he would not recognize a winner until legal challenges to the election have been settled. Although President Trump’s legal team is still claiming electoral fraud and fighting to have the vote overturned in some key battleground states, the majority of his campaign’s legal cases have been dismissed with the remaining cases leaving little possibility in changing the outcome of the election.

“With regard to the U.S. election, we are going to wait until all the legal matters have been resolved,” said López Obrador.

Earlier this month, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) called out López Obrador for his inaction saying, “Joe Biden lawfully and clearly won this election. Every world leader should acknowledge this fact, including the president of our most important neighbor and ally, Mexico.”

On Monday, the General Service Administration informed Biden’s team that the transition process could officially begin, giving them access to government resources and data. Despite this development, Trump stated that he was still fighting the results of the election but allowed the transition for “the best interest of our Country.”