Having Motives and Legitimacy, Mexico Should Lead a Latin American Strategy Sergio Aguayo - Reforma
go to original November 19, 2016

Donald Trump evokes Latin America’s old-style strongmen (Ingram Pinn)

As the world changes, those at the helm of Mexico react with a dangerously naïve optimism.

The day after the US election, President Enrique Peña Nieto boasted of a “respectful, polite and friendly conversation” with Donald Trump; his election – said the Presidend - was both a “challenge” and a “great opportunity”. The Secretary of Foreign Relations, Claudia Ruiz Massieu, added that “bilateral relations between Mexico and the United States do not end nor begin with an election.” Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong [Secretary of Government Relations], José Antonio Meade [Secretary of the Treasury] and Agustín Carstens [head of the federal Bank of Mexico], joined together in unison: “Mexico is prepared to face these new circumstances”. None of them clarified any issues because they emulated the President who, for a change, denied the media a response: “Whoever has questions, should hang on to them. I’ll, instead, offer to answer them at a later date”.

History does not wait. This epochal change got in our guts because Trump used anti-Mexican feeling to win. As President, he will have to do “something” in order to keep his promise to put the brakes on the hordes of Mexicans who disgrace US racial purity. Mexico has only extreme options: it can either choose to only react in the event of extreme urgency or take the initiative and propose a redefinition of its relationship with the United States and the world. The second option is more promising and has its history in a glorious chapter of Mexican diplomacy.

In the 1980s, Central America was consumed by political violence. The government of Ronald Reagan wanted a military solution, which affected Mexican interests. Miguel de la Madrid [President, 1982-88] instructed Bernardo Sepúlveda, then Secretary of Foreign Relations, to invite the Columbian government to engage in mediation processes. Then Panama and Venezuela joined and the Contadora Group was born. It was successful because, amongst other measures, it negotiated with the Republicans allied with the Democrats.

It is time to reactivate and update the Contadora. Mexico has the motives and legitimacy to find a regional solution. Almost everything can be included under the heading of Security: drug and arms trafficking, migration, business and money laundering, human rights and racism. With a solid proposal, Mexico can bring together Latin Americans and seek the backing of Europe and Asia.

Read the rest at Mexico Voices

Related: Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to Form Block with Mexico to Deal with Trump (IBTimes)

Related: Mexico and Trump: We Need to Prepare for the Worst (Mexico Voices)

Related: What Will the Trump Presidency Mean for Latin America? (In Homeland Security)

Related: To Face Trump, We Must Start at Home (Mexico Voices)

Related: Latin America's Reaction to President-Elect Donald Trump: Cautious (The Christian Science Monitor)

Related: Obama in Peru Assuaging Leaders of Trump Presidency (Fox News Latino)

Translated by Carl Eadie

Mexico Voices is a blogging endeavor aimed at raising the awareness of U.S. citizens regarding the destructive impact of the U.S. economic policy and the War on Drugs on Mexico - on its people, their economic and physical security and their human rights, on the nation’s dysfunctional justice system, and on the rule of law and Mexico’s fragile democracy. Visit the website at MexicoVoices.blogspot.mx

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