Tag: Lázaro Cárdenas

By contrast, my Mexican cousins in the business world hardly seemed fazed by Trump’s move. While the United States continues to be Mexico’s largest trading partner, Mexicans have increasingly sought to engage the global economy beyond its northern neighbor. In short, more Mexicans are beginning to look beyond the United States for Mexico’s economic vitality. But most Mexicans have long grown used to such slights, having heard about the history of American neocolonialism since grade school. Perhaps even more extraordinary was their unanimous agreement with the highly unpopular Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto in condemning Trump’s move. Peña Nieto gained a reputation as a Trump enabler, welcoming candidate Trump in his only foreign visit during the American elections in 2016. Mexican desire for dignity has defined personal and national relations with the United States for decades, so much of Trump’s rhetoric rings hollow. Economic disparities resulting from NAFTA drove Mexican immigration into the United States in greater numbers than the absence of any wall. Texas retailers felt the impact most immediately. Trump’s call to increase the military presence on the border will only add to misery and death, while damaging economies on both sides of the border.