Lopez Obrador and Biden, beyond the Good Will

As is often the case, and has been for many years, the first meeting between the presidents of Mexico and the United States was full of good will, well wishes, mutual praise for each other and each other’s country, and especially the commitment to doing everything in good faith.

Furthermore, in these early meetings, things are said that will shortly become grounds for discussion and disagreement that extend beyond the good will of the first meeting. Perhaps the area where both administrations most agree is migration. It is clear that Joe Biden wants to destroy Donald Trump’s legacy of xenophobia and anti-immigration measures, action which would benefit millions of Mexicans, among others.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has appraised this aspect of the new neighboring administration carefully and announced that he will lobby to expand the temporary work program for Mexicans. He calls it the New Bracero Program, but the truth is that this program already exists, and each year additional visas are granted to these temporary workers, especially in agriculture. A new effort was also announced yesterday for the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Department to move closer to Central American countries, civil society and the private sector through policies promoting equitable and sustainable economic development. This has been announced so many times and has achieved little. The devil, as always, will be in the details.

Beyond yesterday’s good will, the details will involve the issue raised by a provision that indicates the countries “reaffirmed their shared commitment to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) as a driver for North American prosperity and labor rights in both countries by […] improving worker protections,” (with USMCA’s arsenal). Details will also involve the acknowledgment of “the benefits of addressing short-lived climate pollutants” (yes, coal), as well as “the need to promote energy efficiency” (unlike the new electricity law).

Such was the good will in that first meeting that the word “security” only appears once in the joint declaration. But drug trafficking and the crime associated with it, will be, as always, another issue that places a strain on the countries’ relationship.