Can Top Diplomat Roberta Jacobson Make the US and Mexico Better Amigos? Rafa Fernandez de Castro - Fusion
go to original June 3, 2015

After helping to mend relations with Cuba, U.S. diplomat Roberta Jacobson is being tasked with an equally difficult job: rekindle U.S. relations with Mexico.

Jacobson, the State Department’s top official for the Western Hemisphere, was tapped this week by President Barack Obama to become the next U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. If confirmed, Jacobson will inherit a challenging post in a country wrestling with a series of corruption scandals, political turmoil and a spike in drug war violence.

She might be exactly the right person for the job.

“This is someone who’s devoted her life to understanding Mexico,” Univision political pundit Léon Krauze told Fusion. “I don’t view this as a demotion after leading the highly anticipated U.S.-Cuba talks. Mexico is the second most important embassy for the American government after Russia.”

Jacobson was among the first to express enthusiasm for the government of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, telling the Dallas Morning News that Americans should be “very hopeful” of “Mexico’s Moment.” Since then, the excitement about a new chapter in economic-oriented bilateral cooperation has once again been obscured by concerns over security and human rights.

Read the rest at Fusion

Photo: U.S. Department of State

Related: What Does Obama's Choice of Ambassador Mean for Mexico? (teleSUR)

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