The United States and Mexico

International politics has strange moments and, currently, the United States and Mexico are experiencing a curious coincidence. The two nations have ambassadors who, due to different circumstances, are about to step down.

Eduardo Medina Mora, the Mexican ambassador in Washington, is on the shortlist to occupy a magistracy in Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice. It is expected that he will be the one assigned, of course, but even if he were not, it seems difficult to think that he could continue on there as ambassador.

Last September, Anthony Earl Wayne completed three years in his position, the more or less official period for a U.S. ambassador in any part of the world. He also turned 65 years old this year, retirement age. It’s quite possible for his government to ask him to extend his stay in Mexico. It would not be the first time that something like this has happened, but his retirement age is also a factor.

It will certainly be easier for the Mexican government to fill the void left behind; this is “presidential” territory, given the particularities of a position that is the first line in issues of national security.

The replacement at the U.S. embassy is more complicated. It’s not due to Americans having fewer human resources to fill the position. Last year, the Obama administration’s delay was not due to scarcity but rather the search for a candidate with a very specific profile, determined by matters of domestic politics. Maria Echaveste’s designation was welcome, but it faced the same type of problem that almost anyone in Washington who is nominated will face: approval in a Congress dominated by the Republican Party. That is the reason why Echaveste withdrew her candidacy, and that is the problem that almost any candidate will face.

The only possible solution: A member of the U.S. foreign service and the name of the current sub-secretary of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Roberta Jacobson, comes to mind. Whereas that might have been easy five months ago, she is now heading talks to reestablish relations between her country and Cuba.

No matter what the reasons may be though, neither government appears to be in a hurry or worried.