Mexico is going through a second Donald Trump presidency, and few nations can match its expertise as a goal of Trump’s rhetoric: There have been threats to shut the border, impose tariffs and even ship U.S. forces to combat Mexican drug cartels if the nation doesn’t do extra to stem the stream of migrants and medicines.
That’s to not point out what mass deportations of migrants who’re within the U.S. illegally may do to remittances — the cash despatched residence by migrants — which have grow to be one among Mexico’s most important sources of earnings.
However as a lot as this second spherical appears like the primary spherical — when Mexico pacified Trump by quietly ceding to his immigration calls for — circumstances have modified, and never essentially for the higher. At present, Mexico has in Claudia Sheinbaum a considerably stern leftist ideologue as president, and Trump will not be recognized for dealing with such relations properly.
Again in 2019, Mexico’s then-President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador was a charismatic, plain-spoken, folksy chief who appeared to grasp Trump, as a result of each had a transactional view of politics: You give me what I would like, I’ll offer you what you need. The 2 went on to type a chummy relationship.
However whereas López Obrador was cast within the give-and-take politics of the often-corrupt former ruling occasion, the Institutional Revolutionary Celebration, or PRI, Sheinbaum grew up in a household of leftist activists and bought her political expertise in radical college scholar actions.
“Claudia is extra ideological than López Obrador, and so the issue is that I see her probably responding to Trumpian insurance policies, whether or not it’s, , organized crime or immigration or tariffs with a way more nationalistic, jingoistic view of the connection,” stated Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico’s former ambassador to the U.S. from 2007 to 2013.
Sheinbaum made a degree of being one of many first world leaders to name Trump on Thursday to congratulate him after the election, however through the name Trump did two issues which will say rather a lot about how issues will go.
First, Sheinbaum stated, Trump shortly introduced up the border to remind her there have been points there. Then he requested Sheinbaum to ship his greetings to López Obrador, with whom Trump stated he had “an excellent relationship.” Which may recommend that Trump believes that López Obrador — the brand new president’s political mentor — continues to be in cost, a view shared by some analysts.
Sarukhan stated he believes the truth that Sheinbaum is a girl and is from Mexico might be “a vital problem, a problem on the market as each of them get going of their relationship.”
Not every thing has modified for the more severe: Cross-border commerce has topped $800 billion per 12 months and U.S. corporations are extra dependent than ever on Mexican vegetation.
However the U.S.-Mexico-Canada commerce settlement, or USMCA, is developing for assessment, and Mexico has made authorized adjustments that Trump may seize on to demand a re-negotiation of elements of the deal.
Sheinbaum has steered Mexico received’t give in even when backed right into a nook, saying “we clearly are going to deal with any issues that provide you with dialogue, as a collaborative course of, and if not, we’re going to arise, we’re ready to try this with nice unity.”
Standing up hasn’t labored notably properly earlier than. In 2018, Marcelo Ebrard was Mexico’s prime diplomat; former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated Ebrard mainly bent to U.S. calls for to maintain asylum seekers in Mexico and settle for migrants again even when they weren’t Mexicans.
Ebrard simply requested that the deal not be made public to keep away from embarrassing López Obrador, Pompeo wrote. (Ebrard later claimed he had prevented signing a a lot worse ‘protected third nation’ settlement.)
At present, Ebrard is Mexico’s financial system secretary, and would lead Mexico’s delegation within the scheduled 2026 assessment of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free commerce settlement, one thing that Trump has greeted with mirth. (“I’ve by no means seen anyone fold like that,” Trump as soon as stated of Ebrard.)
Ebrard on Thursday downplayed any dangers this time round, saying e conomic ties between the 2 nations would hold Trump from closing borders or imposing tariffs.
“I’m optimistic. In contrast to different nations, we’re the most important buying and selling accomplice (of the U.S.), so, for those who put up a tariff, that may have repercussions in the US,” Ebrard stated. “I’m not saying it’ll be straightforward, as a result of it isn’t in any respect straightforward, however the relationship with President Trump might be good as a result of, what unites us? These numbers, this gigantic financial system.”
However some former diplomats say any argument that Mexico can keep away from friction with the Trump administration is overconfident, and that 2025 will not be essentially going to be like 2019.
Martha Bárcena, Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S. from 2018 to 2021, stated she doesn’t suppose Trump would again away from marketing campaign guarantees to deport migrants who’re within the nation illegally. She stated Mexican officers who imagine Trump would possibly mood his “marketing campaign guarantees as a result of Mexican migrants are essential for the U.S. financial system” are being overly optimistic.
“Mexico is it by means of the lens of financial logic. The logic that the Trump marketing campaign applies on immigration is a logic of nationwide safety and cultural identification points,” Bárcena stated.
A few of Trump’s greatest coverage issues – restoring U.S. jobs and the growing rivalry with China — additionally run by means of Mexico.
U.S. and international automakers have arrange dozens of vegetation in Mexico, and a few within the U.S. fear that Chinese language corporations may do the identical to make the most of present commerce guidelines to export Chinese language vehicles or auto elements to the US.
It doesn’t assist that Sheinbaum has pushed by means of López Obrador’s insurance policies aimed toward eliminating impartial regulatory and oversight our bodies, and legal guidelines the U.S. authorities says may cut back the independence of the judiciary, each of that are required underneath the USMCA commerce settlement.
“In the event that they go forward with the elimination of impartial regulators and autonomous our bodies, that’s going to be an extra violation of the USMCA,” Sarukhan stated. “After which that’s going to make issues even worse. Clearly, the massive piece goes to be China and the Chinese language footprint in Mexico.”
That might lead Trump to demand the re-negotiation of all auto trade agreements underneath the commerce pact.
So far as efforts to collectively fight the unlawful drug commerce — such cooperation fell to historic lows in 2019 and 2020 — there have been some modestly encouraging indicators. Final week, Mexico introduced the seizure in Tijuana of over 300,000 fentanyl capsules after months when the nation’s complete seizures had amounted to as little as 50 grams — a few ounces — per week.
Sheinbaum, who took workplace on Oct. 1, additionally seems to be tacitly abandoning López Obrador’s technique of not confronting drug cartels. However neither she nor her predecessor and political mentor may ever settle for any Trump plan to ship U.S. forces to function independently on Mexican soil.
It stays to see how far Trump would possibly go; he typically makes solely token gestures to hold by means of on threats. However Sarukhan famous, “I do suppose that he’ll discuss loudly and carry a giant stick.”
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