Breathe
By María Fernanda Cobo
After the verbal and factual hostility experienced between the governments of Mexico and Ecuador, the political violence exercised in the name of national sovereignty has consolidated the electoral ambitions of both governments. A violence that defies international law, multilateral governance and the validity of legal instruments that demand a review for their effective use in the name of peace, security and justice.
Calling upon diplomacy, and its power of representation, protection and negotiation, allows this conflict to lose political intensity and presidential confrontation in order to progress towards a resolute, cooperative and peaceful dialogue between both States. The option of going to the International Court of Justice, the main judicial organ of the United Nations System, depoliticizes the conflict and activates the dispute settlement mechanism characterized by its objectivity and impartiality. Its referral should not be considered as an unfriendly act between States, but as a civilized way in which two friendly countries resolve their differences; and that -if agreed upon- the judgment may follow the "ex aequo et bono" principle , based on considerations of justice and equity, which allows establishing obligations for one of the parties or for both. The progressive development of international law could overcome the traditional logic of law-obligation and make the rule more flexible in order to be more effective in the face of the new challenges posed by diplomatic immunity, the legitimacy of political asylum and the fight against corruption.
While the legal process moves forward in the multilateral system, bilateral diplomacy should spare no consistent and practical efforts to activate mechanisms for dialogue and agreement on an approach to normalize diplomatic relations between Mexico and Ecuador. In creating this climate of understanding and cooperation, consideration should be given to the transition of the Mexican Presidency that began on June 2. On this occasion, the old precept of Mexican presidentialism could be applied, in accordance with the principle of "breaking to stabilize", where the new Presidency could take advantage of the reestablishment of relations with Ecuador as a coup d'effect in its effort to differentiate and distance itself from its predecessor and thus vindicate the diplomatic capacity of the next administration.
Overcoming this diplomatic rift is a strategic imperative for the foreign policy of both countries; our continent has a common threat: drug trafficking and organized crime, which by their transnational nature require cohesive States committed to hemispheric security. This diplomatic breakdown represents, as Henry Kissinger pointed out in his book A World Restored, the "tragic element" of political ideologism, which hinders international cooperation to achieve fundamental ends, such as peace and security, thus reducing the exercise of power to the rhetoric of punishment and humiliation, an anti-diplomatic rhetoric that limits its pacifying effect.
Biography:
María Fernanda Cobo has a Master's Degree in Human Rights and is a Specialist in Management, Government and Public Affairs. She is currently a professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador.
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The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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