Ecuador spat: Trotsky to the shah, Mexico’s long history as home to exiles

Mexico has a long tradition of granting asylum, but experts see political motives behind offers made under President Lopez Obrador.

With rifles, riot shields and helmets, the Ecuadorian police scaled the white concrete gate, burst through the embassy doors and arrested Jorge Glas, a former vice president accused of corruption.

The April 5 raid on Mexico’s embassy in Quito sparked a diplomatic firestorm. Experts warned the police raid was a clear violation of international laws protecting embassies.

But in the lead-up to the raid, Mexico tried to invoke another safeguard enshrined in international law: the right to asylum.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known by the initials AMLO, had announced on the same day that Glas would be granted political asylum in his country after more than three months of sheltering in its embassy.

But Glas was hardly the first politician Lopez Obrador had offered asylum to. In fact, experts say Mexico has a long and cherished history of granting asylum to figures fleeing persecution – from communist leaders to embattled presidents.