President Pena Nieto’s Mistake

Trump’s visit does not erase his hostility against Mexico.

Donald Trump’s visit to the Mexican president, Enrique Pena Nieto, was a serious mistake made by the president. While Trump used the visit to create a presidential status and reinforce his image to voters, Pena Nieto didn’t receive any rectification or favorable promise to Mexico by the Republican candidate, and he gave the impression of being a weak and pulseless leader.

The palpable proof is that, just a few hours after the interview, Trump reiterated expressions of disgust, xenophobia and racism against Mexico that marked his campaign. He did that during a speech about immigration, offending the Mexican chief of state when, referring to the wall he intends to build on the border and conscientious that his public knew he had recently met with Pena Nieto, reiterated that Mexico was going to pay for its construction, adding the ironic sentence: “They still don’t know.”

Trump started his presidential career upsetting Mexicans by calling them rapists and drug dealers. His main project – expulsion of immigrants and a wall on the border – means the end of relations with their southern neighbor. He has never apologized for his repeated insults to the Mexican community. He even performed pathetic attempts of fraternizing with them – as when he was photographed eating tacos in order to prove he has nothing against Hispanics – which, basically, are new offenses.

In Mexican territory, Trump showed again his arrogance by justifying his proposal that the USA have the right to defend itself, as if Mexico were a hostile nation and that should keep a certain distance.

The institutional figure of the Mexican president doesn’t deserve to be tainted with such company, no matter how much willingness and dominance is shown. In fact, Mexico is officially called the United States. But Trump still doesn’t know.