Since arriving in the country in September to assume the role of Ambassador to Mexico, former US interior secretary Ken Salazar has been having a grand old time. Bestriding the country in his ten-gallon Texan hat, the peripatetic Salazar has been showing up seemingly everywhere: at a regional governor’s meeting in Mérida, musing about offering a message to the nation on the Senate floor, meeting with opposition figures at the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, even hanging out with the mariachis in Mexico City’s fabled Plaza Garibaldi.

In and amongst all the fun and games, however, the new ambassador has found plenty of time to steamroll his way into the thicket of sensitive political matters. In early November, Salazar took his tour to the National Palace. There, he expressed “serious concerns” about the Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) administration’s proposed constitutional energy reform, which seeks to strengthen the hand of the public energy sector and nationalize the nation’s substantial lithium stores. The message received a quick rebuff from Mexican foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard, who calmly reminded the ambassador of an existing agreement with Washington not to weigh in on the reform without first having learned “what it is and what it isn’t.”

Not content with putting his foot in it once, Salazar plowed ahead two days later, tweeting out a photo of a meeting with “energy sector leaders” who provide “clean, accessible, and trustworthy energy to Mexico.” He then proceeded to hold a press conference in which he stated that businesses that have “invested in renewable energy with the backing of the United States” are concerned. For this reason, the United States — an earnest student as always — is seeking to better understand the reasons for the reform in order to arrive at a “resolution.”