MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for treating Mexicans with more respect — or at least not saying anything insulting lately.
“For some time now, he (Trump) has been very prudent in referring to Mexicans, or he hasn’t said offensive things,” Lopez Obrador said. “I have to thank him for that. … Up to now, things are going well. There has been respect.”
Earlier this week Trump said about Lopez Obrador: “I think he’s going to be terrific.”
Mexico’s president-elect also said that bilateral talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement “are on a good track.”
But Lopez Obrador — who has had baseball on his mind this week — paraphrased Yankees legend Yogi Berra, saying “This isn’t over till it’s over.”
Lopez Obrador, who will take office on Dec. 1, took a break from his routine of meetings on Thursday and posted a video of himself on a baseball field, where took a turn at bat and connected solidly on about a half-dozen pitches.
The 64-year-old, who claims to bat above .300, said he wants to set up schools throughout Mexico to promote baseball in a country where soccer dominates.
“We are also going to promote baseball a lot,” he said. “We are going to establish training schools for gym teachers, but at the same time these schools are going to be academies to train young people to be good baseball players.”
To those who see soccer as Mexico’s national pastime, Lopez Obrador said, “Don’t be jealous. … I love sports, all sports.”