Mexico’s president-elect has come under criticism over a video of him kissing a female reporter on the cheek after she asked him a question, the second recent incident in which some said he showed a lack of respect to women covering him.
The encounter came as Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who won July’s presidential vote, was in Tijuana as part of a nationwide thank-you tour ahead of his Dec. 1 inauguration.
In the video, Lorena Garcia of the local newspaper El Mexicano asks Lopez Obrador about next year’s gubernatorial election in Baja California state, which is home to Tijuana. He smiles, does not answer, turns around, gives her a quick peck and then continues walking to his car.
Airy cheek-kisses between men and women are common as a casual greeting in Mexican culture, but less so for formal, professional encounters, especially involving people who do not know each other.
Garcia said in an interview with MVS radio that it was the first time she had ever met Lopez Obrador in person and she found the gesture "inappropriate."
"We are working. We do not have the intention of receiving or seeking a greeting of this kind," Garcia said. "Understand that we are doing our job. It is not something that I would like to continue happening to me every time I go out to report."
The encounter took place Sept. 20 but only gained widespread attention this week as the video spread via social and traditional media.Lopez Obrador was also criticized recently for addressing two women […]
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