Claudia Guerrero and Antonio Baranda / Reform Agency
Monday, January 09, 2023 | 19:54
Mexico City.- Outside of the officially announced program, Jill Biden and Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller, wives of the presidents of the United States and Mexico, made a declaration of friendship this Monday, on the occasion of the bilateral meeting of the Presidents.
With Presidents Joe Biden and Andrés Manuel López Obrador as witnesses, they took the microphone and delivered a joint six-point speech in both English and Spanish.
With alternating interventions, they demonstrated in favor of freedom, education, the family, the fight against poverty, respect and love.
“We believe that freedom of faith, expression and the press are the basis of democracy and that the voice of the people is powerful, for these reasons we remain close to the highest ethics that guide us, respect for the law and the customs and traditions of the peoples of today, as well as of the ancestral peoples of natives”, they pointed out.
When talking about education, they assured that it is essential for a just and productive society. Education forms community.
“Without education it is impossible to imagine a better world with ethical principles, with equal opportunities and with contributions to the arts, sciences and technology,” they read.
Regarding the family, they argued that these ties, whether forged or found, created by choice or chance, provide shelter from life’s sorrows, strength for the trials that have to be faced, and a home.
“The family is the main social security institution,” they added.
Both affirmed that poverty is not destined by God, but is a product of inequality.
“We know that the poor deserve to live better and we are working with great compassion and determination, every day to improve everyone’s lives,” they said.
They also talked about respect and rejection of all forms of xenophobia, racism, discrimination and classicism.
“We dare to dream of a time when everyone is equal, we are equal free.”
Finally, they assured that love is the engine that keeps us together, love makes us flexible and resistant.
“By helping us to be more than ourselves, it teaches us to protect ourselves, to provide for ourselves, to care for one another and to give our hearts fully, no matter the cost,” they said.
“It pushes us to fight for justice and opportunity in these countries we call home, makes us bold and courageous so we can build a better, diverse world for generations to come.”
At the end of the speech, they expressed that, together, the United States and Mexico have shared values to be able to build.
smiles and hugs
The Bidens’ reception, at the National Palace, was marked by smiles and hugs.
From the Gate of Honor, both couples met with affectionate expressions.
Then the formal ceremony and the hymns passed.
When the two presidents posed for the official photograph, they reached out to shake hands.
After the initial squeeze, López Obrador took Biden’s forearm, to which he responded by hugging him from behind.
Then came the speeches and, at the end, Biden commented something in his wife’s ear.
She threw herself towards the place that Beatriz Müller was occupying, with open arms.
Both merged into a hug for a few seconds; but the hug became collective when Jill Biden opened her arms to also include the leaders.
