July 31, 2023
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox has apologized to the Jewish community after calling his political opponent Claudia Sheinbaum, a front-runner in the evolving 2024 presidential race, a “Bulgarian Jew,” writes JTA journalist Gabe Friedman
Fox, a right-wing populist and former Coca-Cola executive who served as Mexico's president from 2000 to 2006, is a frequent critic of the country's current left-wing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Last week, he complained in an interview about Lopez Obrador's decision to stop monthly pension payments to outgoing presidents, using pejorative language to call "lazy" people who "have no place in government or in the country," the Los Angeles Times reported.
Sheinbaum and other leaders of Lopez Obrador's Morena party condemned Foxx's comments. Fox then tweeted denials, calling Sheinbaum a “Bulgarian Jew” and former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, also of the Morena party, a “French snob.” Fox is a frequent provocateur whose National Action Party is conservative and has strong ties to the Catholic Church. “The only Mexican is Xochitl!” Fox added, referring to his preferred presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez, a senator from his party.
Sheinbaum's father's family immigrated from Lithuania, and her mother's family immigrated from Bulgaria. Ebrard is a descendant of French immigrants. Fox later apologized, writing: "I have deep respect for the Jewish community." The episode shows Sheinbaum, who rarely discusses her Jewishness, already facing questions about her identity at the start of what will be an intense battle for her party's presidential nomination. The Los Angeles Times reported that she had been ridiculed as a "foreigner" in a political debate and that she had recently posted her birth certificate on her Twitter account in response.
Sheinbaum became the first Jewish mayor of Mexico City. Since then, her popularity has soared and she decided to leave office to run as a presidential candidate against her party's incumbent. She has become Lopez Obrador's main rival in Morena, which is expected to name a candidate in September for next year's elections. If elected, Sheinbaum will become the first Jewish and first female president of Mexico. Sheinbaum, 60, was also a respected physics and engineering professor who helped the United Nations with climate change research.
Source: https://lechaim.ru/news/eks-prezident-meksiki-nazval-vedushhego-meksikanskogo-politika-evrejku-bolgarskoj-evrejkoj/
July 31, 2023
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox has apologized to the Jewish community after calling his political opponent Claudia Sheinbaum, a front-runner in the evolving 2024 presidential race, a “Bulgarian Jew,” writes JTA journalist Gabe Friedman
Fox, a right-wing populist and former Coca-Cola executive who served as Mexico's president from 2000 to 2006, is a frequent critic of the country's current left-wing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Last week, he complained in an interview about Lopez Obrador's decision to stop monthly pension payments to outgoing presidents, using pejorative language to call "lazy" people who "have no place in government or in the country," the Los Angeles Times reported.
Sheinbaum and other leaders of Lopez Obrador's Morena party condemned Foxx's comments. Fox then tweeted denials, calling Sheinbaum a “Bulgarian Jew” and former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, also of the Morena party, a “French snob.” Fox is a frequent provocateur whose National Action Party is conservative and has strong ties to the Catholic Church. “The only Mexican is Xochitl!” Fox added, referring to his preferred presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez, a senator from his party.
Sheinbaum's father's family immigrated from Lithuania, and her mother's family immigrated from Bulgaria. Ebrard is a descendant of French immigrants. Fox later apologized, writing: "I have deep respect for the Jewish community." The episode shows Sheinbaum, who rarely discusses her Jewishness, already facing questions about her identity at the start of what will be an intense battle for her party's presidential nomination. The Los Angeles Times reported that she had been ridiculed as a "foreigner" in a political debate and that she had recently posted her birth certificate on her Twitter account in response.
Sheinbaum became the first Jewish mayor of Mexico City. Since then, her popularity has soared and she decided to leave office to run as a presidential candidate against her party's incumbent. She has become Lopez Obrador's main rival in Morena, which is expected to name a candidate in September for next year's elections. If elected, Sheinbaum will become the first Jewish and first female president of Mexico. Sheinbaum, 60, was also a respected physics and engineering professor who helped the United Nations with climate change research.
Source: https://lechaim.ru/news/eks-prezident-meksiki-nazval-vedushhego-meksikanskogo-politika-evrejku-bolgarskoj-evrejkoj/
