It is the biggest world power and has participated in molding our history — for the good and for the bad — since the war in 1847.
A country that inspired Porfirio Díaz’s historical phrase, “Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States.”
The relationship with our Northern neighbor has always been difficult, however, this is the moment in which the relationship needs to be ensured.
Because now Donald Trump declares that if he wins the presidency, he will make Mexico pay between five and 10 billion dollars for the wall at the border and if they don’t agree, he will cut off trade. The United States and Mexico do not have a clear dialogue.
Because republican senator and previous candidate Marco Rubio was in charge of making it impossible for Roberta Jacobson to assume the post as U.S. Ambassador in Mexico, despite that Barack Obama had assigned it to her, emphasizing the importance that she gave to the relationship.
And for our part, I don’t know whose idea it was or what lesson remained pending for Miguel Basáñez — a man integrated into Northern imperialism — to be removed from his job as Mexican Ambassador in the United States, demonstrating how little we care about our relationship with Washington.
And if that wasn’t enough, in the place of Basáñez, we chose someone who probably won’t open up intellectual conversations about parties in Washington, with the goal of organizing an anti-Trump reaction. Because the designated person — Carlos Sada Solana — was only chosen to be, to the Mexican External Services relief, a diplomat.
In this sense, the Foreign Relations Secretariat announced that it removed Miguel Basáñez because of the increasing “anti-Mexico” climate caused by Trump. However, I think that this phenomenon shouldn’t be fought with improvised irrational reactions, because, at the end of the day, the Mexican ambassador in Washington isn’t the one who makes the politics in issues like this one, and he should continue to follow the line marked by his chancellor.
Now, given the reaction of Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu, two things are evident. One one hand, it is not clear why at this point — despite the problem being created by the possible republican candidate — José Paulo Carreño King is being designated by Carlos Salinas de Gotari as the new Undersecretary for the U.S. to improve relations with the country.
And on the other hand, we cannot forget that politics with the United States design the grouping of the government in our country.