Mexico and the United States’ haphazard diplomatic relations since the advent of the Donald Trump administration are not going anywhere, for now.
In Mexico, Foreign Relations Secretary (SRE) Luis Videgaray has moved freely between Mexico City and Washington informing only President Enrique Peña Nieto of the status of the relation. This is causing discontent at the Chamber of Senators which is the final authority on foreign relations and the main overseer of the SRE’s actions.
Each visit Videgaray makes to Washington makes waves in Mexico and the latest is that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is to visit the nation to pay a friendly visit to Videgaray and perhaps also to President Peña Nieto.
Senators want to know what’s going on. From the Senate’s standpoint, Mexico has not initiated diplomatic relations with the Trump Administration given the fact that currently standing U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson does not have either the sympathy or the authority to do official dealings with Mexico except issue visas.
Tillerson’s visit was originally announced for Wednesday, Feb. 15, but the SRE press office has stayed mum and the U.S. Embassy has not issued a press release announcing the arrival of Mr. Tillerson.
But even worse, Secretary Tillerson is busier at the time just getting acquainted with the humongous worldwide infrastructure of the State Department on which Mexico nowadays plays a noisy but really unimportant part as relations have been in place over decades, and regardless of what Mr. Trump does next, those relations will be there alive and kicking for the next four years of his tenure.
In the meantime, Videgaray’s visits to Washington are getting the utmost attention despite the fact that the Senate complains that “he’s not being supervised” and are demanding his presence in an official appearance in front of the Foreign Relations Committee so that he can inform them what he’s up to. The date of that appearance is to be announced today.
Again, for the Senators there is currently no normal diplomatic relations with the U.S. government except those already agreed on through the current Roberta Jacobson representation.
Videgaray’s tours (not official visitations) to Washington and his relationship with White House advisor and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner keep rocking the boat in Mexico.
Just last week CBS News and The Washington Post mentioned that Kushner had shown Videgaray Trump’s next speech against Mexico to which Videgaray commented it was too tough.
The press (maybe leaked by the White House itself?) reports were that Kushner authorized Videgaray to “copy edit” the text to soften it down.
After getting blasted in both chambers of Congress Videgaray twitted in Spanish:
“I never thought I’d be using these words but it applies on this issue: Fake News.”
“There you have it: he’s already influenced by The Donald,” was the general comment of the twit posted last Friday.
National Action Party (PAN) Senator Gabriela Cuevas of the Foreign Relations Committee says that “up till now we have learned what is happening from the media and that a reunion with Videgaray would be healthy to have as soon as possible.”
Senator Zoe Robledo reminded both President Peña Nieto and Secretary Videgaray that informing the Senate of what’s going on in Washington is necessary, as “we are your counterbalance” and “it’s urgent for the chancellor to come and give us an explanation.”
Senator Robledo, who shifted to the National Regeneration Party (Morena) just last Monday, added that even if Secretary Videgaray and President Peña Nieto are acting on their own “the strategy to negotiate with the United States must be of the Mexican State, not of the Administration and that’s just where they (Peña and Videgaray) are erring.”
In short, the hap hazardous bilateral relationship will continue until Tillerson appoints the new U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and “chancellor apprentice” Luis Videgaray stops tinkering with such a delicate issue as keeping a diplomatic balance with Donald Trump’s wacko style of doing international politics.
