The End of Nostalgia: Mexico Confronts the Challenges of Global Competition

9. Mexico and the United States: Where Are We and Where Should We Be?

Mexico and the United States are not only neighbors—distant or close depending on where you sit—but two equally proud nations with their respective histories of struggles for independence and bloody civil conflicts. Each is fiercely jealous of its sovereignty, although each benefits enormously from our geographical vicinity. The movement of people and goods across the land border, through airports, and by other means of transport is among the most intense anywhere in the world.As befits two countries with such vast disparities in economic strength and political influence, we sometimes find ourselves on different sides of the fence when it comes to foreign policy issues or the bilateral agenda. However, in general there are many more pluses than minuses. Notwithstanding the asymmetries and occasional political discrepancies, our bilateral relationship has evolved over the past few decades into a much more cooperative and trustworthy interaction than was the case historically. Whereas in the past both governments often viewed each other with suspicion and misgiving, today’s situation is very different. Ever since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force in 1994, government officials in Washington and Mexico City have developed a closer, friendlier, and mutually beneficial relationship as they deal with the multiplicity of subjects that characterize the intense, day-to-day dealings between the two nations.Almost every American and Mexican is affected in some way by what happens in the other country, whether in immigration flows, the growth and greater political importance of the Hispanic community in the United States, or the impact of remittances and the influence of bilateral trade and recipro170 9 Mexico and the United States: Where Are We and Where Should We Be? andrés rozental cal investments in the products consumed by Mexicans and Americans on a daily basis. While the intimacy of bilateral cooperation has grown,problems still remain that bedevil the Mexico-U.S. relationship. These often are much more visible and troublesome than the many positive aspects of our partnership. Media attention in both countries tends to focus on the negatives of illegal immigration , drug trafficking, criminal activity, and trade conflicts, while in reality these are but a part—albeit an important one—of an otherwise vigorous agenda that includes cooperation on cross-border public health issues, legitimate tourism and business travel between both countries, intelligence sharing in the fight against organized crime and terrorism, as well as communications and transport, business facilitation, and infrastructure development. Citizens in both countries are often unaware of the beneficial parts of the bilateral agenda and tend to focus mostly on the negative aspects that the media prefer to emphasize as the business of selling news becomes increasingly competitive. This leads to a dual-track relationship: in reality, the positives far outweigh the negatives, and the day-to-day interaction is mostly constructive and encouraging. Despite this, public opinion and media perceptions portray two countries that don’t get along, often disagree on how to tackle different aspects of the relationship, and are far from being the partners or strategic allies that NAFTA intended. While it is undeniable that in recent years Mexico has been plagued by an upsurge in violent criminal activity, it is no less true that other aspects of the country’s economic performance, social progress, and political maturity have far outweighed the relatively recent increase in homicides related to organized crime and drug trafficking. Mexico’s foreign policy historically claimed a consensus within a fairly diverse spread of political and ideological currents of thought. Based on the same principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, successive PRI (Partido Revoluncionario Institucional [Institutional Revolutionary Party]) governments were able to give Mexico a diplomatic profile that hewed closely to the noncontroversial ideals of sovereignty, self-determination, and noninterference in the internal affairs of others and friendly relations among states.1 Up to the 1990s these tenets were enough to govern foreign policy and guide Mexico’s behavior in the international arena, but during the Salinas administration an activist foreign policy replaced the country’s more traditional diplomacy, with a subsequent shift in how Mexico viewed its role in the world.2 Along with an opening up of the country’s economy, and the decision to negotiate a free trade arrangement with Canada and the United States, Mexico and the United States: Where Should We Be? 171 came a simultaneous shift in the conduct of the country’s...