Washington Sucks at Talking About Mexico (ANALYSIS)
Washington Sucks at Talking About Mexico (ANALYSIS)
Mexico’s president refuses to be another self-loathing ‘MAGA Hispanic’
Congress sucks at talking about Mexico. In both the House and Senate, the bilateral relationship with our southern neighbor is fraught with inept commentary and too often disrespect. There are plenty of examples of this in recent months, but a February 29 press conference by House Speaker Mike Johnson is among the most egregious.
"We're the United States. Mexico will do what we say," Johnson told reporters. Last week, in a rare interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador responded to Johnson.
"No, Mr. Legislator," said the President in Spanish. “He’s disrespectful,” AMLO told Alfonsi of Speaker Johnson. “We are an independent country. Free sovereign. We are not a colony. We are not a protectorate of any foreign country. And we have a very good relationship with the government of the United States–but not one of subordination.”
Last Monday, Johnson clapped back at AMLO's interview in a tweet, prompting far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to pile on with a tweet of her own attacking both Johnson and AMLO. It was geopolitical lucha libre — an absurdist contest of theatrical politics that's sure spill over into April.
Analysis: U.S. Mexico Bilateral Relations Needs Adults in the Room
Truth be told, there is no border security for the United States without Mexico as a full partner in the endeavor.
As our largest trading partner, Mexico can throw its weight around our shared American hemisphere, especially in an era of diminishing regard for gringo policies and shaken confidence in our almighty dollar. Mexico doesn’t need to kiss our asses anymore. AMLO made that very clear. Under his presidency, Mexico’s economy has grown by leaps and bounds even after the pandemic. His presidency is also noticeably popular among the citizens of Mexico after having invested heavily into lifting millions out of poverty.
ASIDE. Listening to conservatives like Johnson, you would think Mexico is a colony — not unlike Puerto Rico which, according to Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, would be eating cat food if not for the U.S.
Thankfully, despite the widespread gringo arrogance and intolerance at Mexico, Latinos lawmakers mostly know better. “Republicans are delusional. They don't understand immigration,” Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) said in March. “They don't care to really understand immigration. They don't care to really come to the table with real solutions that would actually address the challenges and embrace the opportunity with immigration.”
Republican ineptitude about Mexico isn’t limited to Congress, as highlighted by legislation in Texas that would have the state deporting migrants to Mexico. In response to Texas’ SB4 law, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they would not accept deportees from the state while also filing an amicus brief with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana.
“I’m guessing they [Mexico] would rather work with the federal government,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat who represents a big chunk of the U.S.-Mexico border in his district.
Johnson’s war of words with AMLO this week can be viewed in some sense as a spillover from the irate xenophobia that Republicans have hung their hat on as a campaign message this year. Mexicans make up the largest group of migrants in the U.S., easily the largest Latino group living stateside.
With this in mind, Johnson’s response to AMLO is telling. Reacting to AMLO’s remark on 60 Minutes in support of expanded legalization programs for migrants in the U.S., Johnson cried subversion. “[M]ass amnesty will only serve to expand the Mexican cartels’ already growing and dangerous human trafficking operation,” Johnson said via a statement.
Arturo’s Take
To extremist Republicans like Johnson, it’s politically expedient to equate Latinos — and especially migrant Latinos — to crime. Polling consistently shows GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump making gains with Latino voters.
BY THE NUMBERS. According to a poll by The New York Times and Siena College, Hispanic/Latino voters could be favoring Trump over President Biden in the election. According to the survey, 46% of Latino voters prefer Trump versus 40% who support Biden. However, the poll notes that the sample size of Latino voters is not enough to reliably and the margin of error is 10 percentage points.
Despite MAGA rising among some (not all, mind you) stateside Latinos, AMLO’s interview showed the U.S. that Mexico is not to be messed with and that much of the rhetoric from Republicans is based on false narratives. His thoughtful clap back left anti-Latino conservatives will little to use against him — and even less to say.