End the Chaos at the Border?

There is a growing tendency in the American political body to identify Mexico and its government as negative factors for America’s security

The Mexican government is facing an increasingly complicated situation in its relationship with the United States.

Regardless of the current state of official relations, which are not at their best, there is a growing tendency in the American political body to identify Mexico and the Mexican government as negative factors for America’s security.

The focus is on migration and drug trafficking, two phenomena that many American analysts place together. They are conveniently presented like this by Republican politicians and have been in the popular imagination for some time.

If former President Donald Trump spoke on at least one occasion about the possibility of bombing methamphetamine and other drug laboratories in Mexico, the rhetoric is beginning to escalate, thanks to the unfolding election campaign and the apparent need for Republicans to adopt nationalist policies based on force.

Thus, according to the Center for Renewing America, made up of former Trump staff, “It is long past time for the United States to restore its sovereignty and put an end to the chaos at the border.”

The immediate pretext is to attack the presidency of Joe Biden and to portray the Democrats as incapable of defending the borders and obtaining cooperation, willingly or by force, from the Mexican government.

And in fact, one of the important points for the authors of the essay is that, at the end of the day, the Mexican government is in real control of one hundred percent of its territory, although they note that, “to date, the Mexican government has proven itself incapable or unwilling to address the murderous cartels adequately.”

But all told, their focus is that “the reality is that a future administration and Congress will need to stop the murderous international drug cartels responsible for the mayhem engulfing Mexico, Central America and our communities.”

It is difficult to determine how far the proponents of such a policy are willing to go, but they do not hide anything, mentioning that “waging war against the cartels and confronting select cartel networks and affiliate factions in a manner similar to existing FTO designations” is the best way “to bring an end to the chaos.”

It is evident that there is an audience willing to believe anything about Mexico, already presented in films and television series as a place where illegality and violence flourish, which paves the way for Republican proponents in the current election campaign to present Mexico as a danger to the national security of their country.

What is worrying is that criticizing Mexico is cheap and easy, and that a Republican triumph in November would almost herald their victory in the 2024 presidential elections, and the prevalence of dangerously negative attitudes towards Mexico.