Trump’s Visit to Mexico a Humiliation for Peña Nieto
While the political ramifications of Donald Trump’s visit to Mexico are confused — the GOP nominee was respectful and restrained in Mexico, but returned to his promises to brutally excise the U.S.’s undocumented immigrant population — his visit with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has only served to taint the already unpopular head of state.
Going in to the event, Peña Nieto’s approval ratings sagged in to the low 20s, a threat to his party’s position in the 2018 presidential election. Violence and economic malaise have made him deeply unpopular. His failure to respond forcefully to Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric have only compounded perceptions of ineptitude.
Donald Trump announced his presidential run in June 2015 with damning words for Mexican immigrants — “They’re not sending their best” the GOP nominee began calling Mexican immigrants rapists and drug mules — a salvo that would come to define his presidency. In the joint press conference Aug. 31 with Trump, Peña Nieto called the GOP nominee’s scathing remarks “misunderstandings” that “pained” the Mexican people. In turn, Trump called the Mexican President a “friend.”
On Wednesday, the Secretary of Finance and Public Credit — the government official who reportedly organized the meeting — resigned.
Speaking on Donald Trump’s visit to Mexico and press conference with sitting President Enrique Peña Nieto, Rice University’s Mexico Center called the move a “mistake” adding “He was literally humiliated by Mr. Trump who, in spite of his calm demeanor in Mexico proper, came back to restate his position vis-à-vis Mexico.”
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has rejected a similar meeting in Mexico with Peña Nieto calling the visit a “diplomatic incident” that demonstrates Trump’s lack of skill interacting with other heads of state.
The rest of the government has declined to match Peña Nieto’s cordiality. A bill presented to the Mexican Congress would revoke a series of 75 U.S.-Mexico treaties — including the 1848 agreement that transferred half of Mexican.
land to the U.S. — if Trump revokes the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as he has threatened.
