The winds of political changes in the United States will no doubt soon sweep that country’s ambassador to Mexico, Roberta S. Jacobson, back to Washington.
Although she was by no means a political appointee, her brief nine-month stay in Mexico reflected a strong Democrat-versus-Republican standoff in the U.S. Congress, where it took nearly a year of diplomatic finessing to get her approved as envoy to Mexico.
All of which means that Jacobson is now essentially a lame duck ambassador, with one foot out the door, discreetly biding time until U.S President Donald J. Trump calls her home and replaces her with an emissary more in tune with his foreign policy agenda for Mexico.
But Jacobson is keeping up a good front and demonstrating her gracious political tact as she waits out the end of her stint here.
Despite the growing hostilities between United States and Mexico born from mounting tension on immigration and trade policies, she continues to try to foster understanding and cooperation instead of barriers and dysfunction.
Jacobson, who filled a much needed role in Mexico after nearly a year of a caretaker diplomatic mission, has proven not only her shrewd diplomatic savvy but also her grit and determination to broaden two-way ties, not only in terms of trade and development, but also on joint projects for education, cultural and scientific exchange, and law enforcement.
She has also demonstrated her discreet capability to maneuver her way through touchy binational issues such as human rights abuses, extradition, border security and drug trafficking in an ever-more-edgy geopolitical environment.
The former director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs and assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs hit the ground running when she arrived in Mexico last year, courting both the Mexican press and business community, while making certain not to ruffle any additional Mexican political feathers.
To her credit, combined bilateral trade reached nearly $60 billion last year and U.S. investment in Mexico topped $105 billion.
Last week, Jacobson hosted the 149th general meeting and annual cherry pie festival of the American Benevolent Society (ABS) at her Lomas de Chapultepec residence, cordially welcoming members of the local U.S. community and offering words of encouragement for the organization’s ongoing efforts to broaden the bilateral friendship.
She particularly congratulated ABS president Bill Biese and singled out that organization’s ever-committed executive director, Barbara Franco, saying Franco was more of an ambassador of binational goodwill than she herself was.
The envoy also stressed the symbiotic role that the U.S. Embassy and the ABS play in helping to serve U.S. citizens and others in Mexico as mutually complementary entities.
One area where the embassy and ABS have worked closely together, she noted, is in helping to document the U.S.-born children of Mexican migrants who often have no legal standing or protections because of their lack of official papers.
At the end of the evening, while guests were beginning to savor the succulent home-baked cherry pies that Jacobson had her staff prepare for the ABS event, the ambassador said that she sincerely hoped that she would be in attendance for the Benevolent Society’s 150th anniversary next year.
“That is a much more significant date than the 149th anniversary, and I would really like to be a part of that momentous celebration.”
Sadly, Jacobson’s attendance at the ABS’ sesquicentennial anniversary is not a likely scenario.
But let’s hope we can keep her here as long as possible to help foster bilateral relations.
Thérèse Margolis can be reached at therese.margolis@gmail.com.