Argentina’s President-Elect Picks Mexico For First Trip Abroad

(Bloomberg) -- Argentina’s president-elect Alberto Fernandez will go to Mexico in his first trip abroad, signaling an interest in aligning himself with like-minded leftist leaders in Latin America such as Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.Fernandez is set to travel to meet the Mexican president next week, according to a person with knowledge of the decision. The exact dates of the trip have yet to be confirmed, the person said, declining to be named because he is not authorized to speak publicly.AMLO, as the Mexican president is known, said during his daily press conference that he will speak to Fernandez on the phone Monday but stopped short of confirming the encounter, just saying the meeting “is very likely.”After winning Argentina’s presidential election on Sunday, Fernandez wasted no time in touting the old guard of Latin America’s leftist leaders. He congratulated Evo Morales for winning a contested fourth term in Bolivia and called for the liberation of Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a hero for the Latin American left, from prison, drawing the disapproval of current leader Jair Bolsonaro.The trip to Mexico to meet AMLO is another step suggesting Fernandez will change Argentina’s foreign policy after four years of the pro-business administration of Mauricio Macri.Fernandez didn’t mention Venezuela in his speech which has been a major regional issue due to the huge flow of migrants leaving the country due to the severe economic crisis. Macri was a strong critic of President Nicolas Maduro.Fernandez takes office on Dec. 10.(Update with AMLO comment in 3rd paragraph.)\--With assistance from Lorena Rios.To contact the reporter on this story: Jorgelina do Rosario in Buenos Aires at jdorosario@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Daniel CancelFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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