diplomacy Archives - understand-culture

Mexican America

On January 7, 2025, Donald Trump proposed renaming the Gulf of Mexico. The next day, at her morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum answered in a light tone, beside a map. “¿Por qué no le llamamos América Mexicana? Se oye bonito, ¿no?” (Why don’t we call it Mexican America? It sounds nice, doesn’t it?), she said. (Video in Spanish.)

She added that she did not see why the relationship should be bad. “Vamos a colaborar y entendernos con el presidente Trump, estoy segura de eso” (We are going to work together and understand each other with President Trump, I am sure of that), CNN Chile quoted her as saying.

Lunch in Agualeguas

On November 26, 1990, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari received President George H. W. Bush in Agualeguas, Nuevo León. According to a statement by the White House press secretary, Salinas hosted a lunch for Bush at the Salinas family home.

The two men had first met in Houston in November 1988, when both were presidents-elect. A 2017 article in the Revista Mexicana de Sociología notes that the talks of that meeting “fueron denominadas con el tiempo como el ‘Espíritu de Houston'” (came in time to be called the “Spirit of Houston”).

The Ranch in San Cristóbal

On February 16, 2001, George W. Bush made his first international trip as president of the United States. President Vicente Fox received him at the Rancho San Cristóbal in Guanajuato. At a joint press conference there, Bush said the visit would “renew our personal friendship and the friendship between Mexico and the United States.”

A column in the Mexican newspaper Vanguardia later recalled what Fox wanted from the visit. “Fox tenía una enorme apuesta política: alcanzar con Bush un acuerdo migratorio de dimensiones históricas” (Fox had an enormous political bet: to reach with Bush a migration agreement of historic dimensions).

Through Luis

On August 4, 2017, twelve days before the renegotiation of NAFTA was due to begin, Expansión called Luis Videgaray and Jared Kushner the saviors of the treaty. “Tanto Videgaray como Kushner son colaboradores muy cercanos a los presidentes de México y de Estados Unidos” (Both Videgaray and Kushner are very close collaborators of the presidents of Mexico and the United States), the magazine wrote.

Citing press reports, Expansión said the two men had been behind the meeting between Enrique Peña Nieto and Donald Trump in August 2016. Citing a Washington Post transcript, it quoted Trump in Spanish on a call with Peña Nieto in January 2017: “Jared confía en que usted y él encontrarán un acuerdo, a través de Luis y su equipo” (Jared is confident that you and he will find an agreement, through Luis and his team).

Not a Safe Third Country

In 2019, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard rejected a United States demand in plain words. “México no es ni aceptará ser Tercer País Seguro” (Mexico is not and will not accept being a Safe Third Country), he said, as El Financiero reported on September 10, 2019. (Video in Spanish.)

The same report recalled the agreement of June 7, 2019, reached under the threat of US tariffs. Mexico had deployed 25,000 members of the National Guard.

The direct no covered one point only. On others, Mexico gave ground.

Cancel the Meeting

On January 26, 2017, President Donald Trump wrote that if Mexico was not willing to pay for the wall on the border, it would be better to cancel the coming meeting with President Enrique Peña Nieto. The meeting was set for January 31 in Washington.

Peña Nieto answered the same day: “no asistiré a la reunión de trabajo programada para el próximo martes con el @POTUS” (I will not attend the working meeting scheduled for next Tuesday with @POTUS). (Video in Spanish.)

Coordination, Not Subordination

On April 1, 2025, after a meeting with the US Secretary of Homeland Security, President Claudia Sheinbaum described her government’s terms. “Nosotros nos coordinamos, pero no nos subordinamos” (We coordinate, but we do not subordinate ourselves), she said. (Video in Spanish.)

In November 2025, after remarks from Washington on security cooperation, she returned to the point. “Hay un entendimiento con el gobierno de Estados Unidos en temas de seguridad, pero con respeto a la soberanía” (There is an understanding with the US government on security matters, but with respect for sovereignty).

On Pause

On August 27, 2024, at his morning press conference, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spoke about Ken Salazar, the US ambassador, who had criticized the government’s judicial reform in public. “Es buena, pero está en pausa, desde que declaró eso” (It is good, but it is on pause, since he said that), he said of the relationship. (Video in Spanish.)

He added: “Mientras no haya eso y sigan con esa política hay pausa con la embajada” (As long as that is not there and they continue with that policy, there is a pause with the embassy). Salazar answered on X: “Siempre trabajamos con el máximo respeto a la soberanía de México” (We always work with the utmost respect for Mexico’s sovereignty).

The Ambassador’s Ignorance

In December 2010, WikiLeaks published cables from the US embassy in Mexico. One described the Mexican army as “lento” (slow) and marked by “aversión al riesgo” (aversion to risk). In an interview with El Universal, President Felipe Calderón said: “la ignorancia del señor se traduce en una distorsión de lo que ocurre en México” (the gentleman’s ignorance turns into a distortion of what happens in Mexico). According to AP, he did not name the ambassador, Carlos Pascual.

On March 19, 2011, Pascual presented his resignation. Expansión reported that Calderón had said he had lost confidence in him.

Understanding and Respect

On July 8, 2020, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador visited Donald Trump at the White House, for the start of the new North American trade agreement, the T-MEC. He thanked Trump: “hemos recibido de usted, comprensión y respeto” (we have received from you understanding and respect). He added: “Usted no ha pretendido tratarnos como colonia” (You have not tried to treat us as a colony). (Video in Spanish and English.)

He also said: “contra todos los pronósticos, no nos peleamos, somos amigos y vamos a seguir siendo amigos” (against all predictions, we did not fight, we are friends and we will go on being friends).