Mexican-American Relations in the Age of Trump
Relations will be influenced by both nations’ bombastic leaders
By Jack Greenspan
The Progressive Teen Contributor
THE UNITED STATES’ RELATIONSHIP with Mexico has been a long and complicated one. From the Mexican-American War and the annexation of the Mexican Cession to the creation of NAFTA and the spread of American weapons to Mexico, relations between the two countries have been fraught with both mutual dependency and tension.
This paradox is no clearer than in the state of relations between the two nations today. Both have seen the rise of brash, arrogant, and narcissistic leaders: the United States with Donald Trump, and Mexico with Andrés Manuel López Obrador, commonly referred to as AMLO. The election of López Obrador had some parallels to the election of Donald Trump; allegations of foul play were bounteous, the incumbent presidents were establishment favorites, and, perhaps most importantly, both of the winning candidates were populist figures.
López Obrador came in with a large electoral mandate, winning a majority of the vote and more Mexican states than any presidential candidate since 1994. This electoral trouncing came after a number of corruption and kidnapping scandals made López Obrador’s predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, historically unpopular. On the other hand, Trump was considered to have a slim chance of victory in his election, as he was one of the most unpopular presidential candidates in U.S. history, and was succeeding a president with relatively high approval ratings.
Their differences can also be seen in their views over issues such as immigration. While Trump’s populism is rooted from a nativist dislike of immigrants, López Obrador has taken a different route, instead taking aim at poverty and the lack of economic opportunity as causal factors for migration. This comes in stark contrast with Trump, who has put an emphasis on the alleged moral impurity of the immigrants who are crossing our border, as evident from his comment on the campaign trail that Mexicans are “bringing drugs… bringing crime… [t]hey’re rapists.”
While Trump and López Obrador both may disagree on the root causes for immigration and have bombastic personalities, they have also shown a surprising willingness to cooperate so far. Since López Obrador’s election, the two have met frequently, issued positive statements about each other, and even worked together on a new version of NAFTA.
This newly conciliatory tone towards Trump may be what is working to preserve relations between the two leaders. Indeed, Trump, who generally favors people who feed his narcissistic tendencies, has been hesitant to call out López Obrador’s policies, even when he disagrees with him.
This action, or lack thereof, will likely remain the case in the near future. López Obrador has no reason to upset Trump. Both nations share a mutually beneficial economic relationship; the U.S. imports about $339.8 billion in products from Mexico, and it would be irrational for López Obrador to put that in jeopardy by bad-mouthing Trump. While this reasoning may sound like hyperbole, Trump, who dislikes the movement of American manufacturing overseas, slapped China with tariffs when they did not concede to his wishes. Mexico is in a similar situation, as it has sucked up much of the U.S. industry. López Obrador would not want to see large tariffs imposed on his country, and from his behavior so far, he realizes this economic reality, and is conceding to it.
Despite the past conflicts between the U.S. and Mexico, relations are looking up, as López Obrador and Trump share a mutually beneficial relationship, which is bolstered by the strong economic ties between the countries. While Trump is irrational when it comes to his trade policy, López Obrador recognizes this, and is being conciliatory towards Trump in an effort to avoid negative repercussions.
