Poor President Peña-Nieto of Mexico! The locals are tearing him up because he invited Mr. Trump to Mexico. We should add that he invited Mrs. Clinton, too, but she does not get around too much these days. Wonder why!
Frankly, I think Trump scored a “golazo,” as Mexicans call a great soccer goal. He flew in and answered questions – again, something Mrs. Clinton does not do.
He spoke respectfully of Mexico and said a few things that have a lot more support in Mexico than all of this anti-Trump hysteria would lead you to believe.
First, Mexicans are sick and tired of the cartel violence. After all, they are the ones dying in the frequent shootings. They were probably very happy to hear that a U.S. presidential candidate understands that the border is chaotic. They probably don’t like what Mr. Trump said a year ago about rapists, but they know there is a lot of human abuse. Mr. Trump called it a “humanitarian crisis,” and every Mexican knows he is right about that.
Second, Mr. Trump brought up NAFTA. It’s not popular south of the border. Many people down there have told me it killed small shops and retailers. I recall a Mexican friend complaining that everything is made in China at Mexico’s Walmart. Does that sound familiar?
Third, Mr. Trump brought up China and keeping manufacturing on our side of the world. Mexico has an interest in that.
Fourth, he mentioned that illegal immigration is bad for both sides. It encourages Central Americans, and now Cubans, to use Mexico as a gateway to the U.S. Worse than that, sending people to the U.S. has allowed the Mexican political class to evade many of the tough decisions. Simply put, what would millions of Mexicans in the U.S. be doing if they were living in Mexico? They would be a thorn on the side of the political class, and rightfully so.
Last, but not least, Mr. Trump made a huge mistake a year ago when he sounded as though he was calling Mexicans rapists and criminals. He could have said it differently. He could have used the trip to Mexico to apologize for that. Also, saying Mexico will pay for the wall just irritates Mexicans of goodwill for no good reason at all. Just build the wall and get it over with.
As for President Peña-Nieto, his critics are just pounding on him for purely domestic reasons. Are Mexican politicians going to keep a President Trump from going to Mexico? Of course not. My guess is that the unpopular Mr. Peña-Nieto may be dealing with the reality that a President Trump is very likely the person that he will be negotiating with in 2017-18. President Peña-Nieto is a bit ahead of his countrymen, and hysterical media, on this. He is seeing the trend in recent polls.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
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