In Trump’s Clutches

This past week was one of the worst in the history of Mexico-U.S. relations since the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. We must not allow ourselves to be fooled about this by Marcelo Ebrard’s optimism and that of his teams in Mexico City and Washington. Never, since that war of aggression, has Mexico faced such a difficult and vulnerable situation.

As I write this, it is still unknown whether the parties involved will reach an agreement that will prevent the tariffs Donald Trump has arbitrarily imposed on Mexico from taking effect.* It is difficult to predict the consequences these tariffs will have on the economies of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, as well as on global markets. It is no surprise that the peso has weakened against the dollar, and the possibility that the economies of Mexico and the U.S. will experience a decline as a result of this measure cannot be ruled out.

In order to avoid this possible blunder, Mexico did what it should have done several months ago and took action against the organization Pueblo Sin Fronteras. Two of its leaders were arrested and their bank accounts were frozen. Allegations have been made against PSF in the past, including one by Alejandro Solalinde, the Catholic priest who founded the shelter, Hermanos en el Camino.

The problems with the work carried out by PSF do not relate to its protection of migrants. Solalinde and others have been protecting migrants for some time. In mid-January, for example, Solalinde revealed the way in which PSF was receiving money in exchange for its services in organizing caravans. Prior to this, at the end of 2018, Solalinde and those in charge of other shelters for migrants on the southern and northern borders of Mexico revealed the fact that the caravans were putting shelters in an unsustainable situation.

And no, the problem is not simply a matter of resources, which always frustrates those who pursue philanthropic endeavors. One of the problems revealed by various shelter directors was the effect of the caravans on people’s perception of the problem and on solutions to migration.

The U.S. government is not without blame. The government used caravans that set out at the end of last October to fuel the fears of the American people, who, despite the Democrats’ victory in last year’s elections, voted for Republican candidates in order to support Trump’s hard-line policy.

In order to address the issue, the U.S. could change the way it processes asylum applications. There is no obligation for applications to be processed at U.S. borders. Instead, this could be done in embassies or consulates, where the applications could either be accepted or rejected, and thereby prevent offering false hope to many who are prompted to join caravans.

But the caravans and tariffs are part of a much more complex landscape that is aimed at facilitating Trump’s reelection, and this is something about which, as Mexicans, we must be very clear. If the tariffs go into effect on Monday, there is little that the Mexican government will be able to do to compensate for the blow. The idea of seeking alternatives to U.S. and Canadian markets sounds nice but would be very difficult to achieve. It remains to be seen how the U.S. Congress will act in response to this matter and, especially, to the matter of Trump’s impeachment.

For now, even if impeachment proceedings were to be initiated, it must be made that the Trump administration has decided to use tariffs as a political weapon, and this will give rise to consequences with respect to any negotiations with any current and future U.S. administrations.

*Editor’s note: President Trump backed off his plan to impose tariffs on all Mexican goods on June 7, 2019, after this article was published, and announced that the U.S. had reached an agreement to reduce the flow of migrants to the U.S. southern border.

**Editor’s note: Pueblos Sin Fronteras is a transborder organization that assists migrants in various ways including transport, training, humanitarian assistance and leadership development.