“Holy Inquisition” sparks withdrawal of Ambassador to Panama nominee

Historian Pedro Salmerón announced his resignation as a candidate for Mexico’s ambassador to Panama said Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in a morning conference on Tuesday, February 1.

López Obrador said that he received a letter from Salmerón (dated January 30, 2022) – “whom I highly esteem and consider a first-rate historian” – in which he informed him of his withdrawal.

Salmerón’s appointment raised countless questions because the doctor of history has been accused by former students and fellow supporters of alleged sexual harassment.

“As if it were the Holy Inquisition, the Foreign Minister of Panama [Erika Mouynes] was dissatisfied because they disagreed at the ITAM [Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico] and asked us not to send the approval request,” said the president, who said he regretted the decision.

ITAM, where Salmerón worked as a teacher, began a formal investigation process into complaints of students and former students. An ITAM investigation committee found sufficient evidence of sexual harassment in one case and a pattern of conduct that led to repeated situations of gender-based violence and sexual harassment in the university environment.

López Obrador indicated that Salmerón is the victim of a smear campaign with a “conservative component.” He announced that he will find a way to use the historian’s knowledge “in another field” and dismissed the accusations against Salmerón, calling them a “media lynching.”

“The current lynching has crossed our borders,” says the historian in the letter.

“When the proposal for my appointment became an issue of gender and international politics, I have believed it pertinent, Mr. President, to do as in 2019, if you believe that the best thing for Mexico and for the government that you preside over is for me to take a step aside, I put at your disposal the declination to the position you offered me, ”Salmerón wrote. “Your friendship and trust are more important to me than any position or job, I never looked for it.”

After the letter was read at the conference, López Obrador revealed that they were going to present a proposal “to see if the government of Panama accepts it.” “I don’t think the president of Panama is aware of it, I think this has more to do with the chancellor,” he added.

Finally, he announced that he would appoint alternate senator Jesusa Rodríguez to the position of ambassador of Mexico in Panama.