Biden and AMLO to talk migration, crime, the economy

Between the two governments there have been many differences when the issue of migration is touched.

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, arrived in Washington on Monday to speak with his American counterpart, Joe Biden, about migration, inflation and security, just when bilateral relations are not going through their best moment. The meeting between the presidents comes just over a month after López Obrador did not attend the summit of the Americas in Los Angeles in protest of the White House refusal to invite the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

In addition, the energy reform promoted by López Obrador blocks billions of dollars of investment and is likely to trigger some controversy within the framework of the North American trade agreement T-MEC. When the tragedy of the more than 50 migrants killed in a trailer on the outskirts of San Antonio is still on everyone’s mind, it is inevitable that the event will focus on the issue of migration and security.

For López Obrador, migration should be approached through “development cooperation programs, not only in the case of Mexico, but also (with) support for Central American countries.” And he is likely to ask Biden for tens of thousands of visas for temporary workers, especially in the agricultural sector, and investments in some projects in Central America to stop migrant caravans.

“It would not be absurd to emit more visas, open the borders a little more, but politically it is very complicated” to take measures that seem that the borders are opening for the legislative elections of mid -mandate in November, which could cost the Democrats Congress control, explains Héctor Cárdenas, professor at Goldman School of Public Policy. The Mexican president is in favor of an “orderly” migratory flow, both for migrants who want to enter the United States and those who are already working in the country, which would imply a path to citizenship, one of Biden’s truncated promises by Congress.

Immigration worries the US electorate at a time when records of arrivals are being broken: 239,416 irregular migrants tried to cross the southern border of the United States in May and were detained or surrendered to an authority. But what really keeps citizens awake at night is rampant inflation. López Obrador considers it possible to “close ranks and work in common agreement” to control the escalation of prices “with bilateral measures”, taking into account that Mexico is the second largest trading partner of the United States and “a country with many opportunities for investment”.

Inflation is due, among other factors, to interruptions and bottlenecks in supply chains and the repercussions of the war in Ukraine after the Russian invasion, which they will also talk about. The two leaders will address “their common vision for North America and common efforts to address global challenges, including Russia’s war in Ukraine,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday.

Security will be the third major section, due to the smuggling of migrants at the border. In addition, the Mexican government estimates that each year more than half a million firearms are trafficked from the United States to Mexico and Washington is extremely concerned about the passage of drugs, especially fentanyl, across the border. But any security issue must be examined “within the framework of respect for our sovereignty,” López Obrador warned Monday. The meeting is preceded by some angry statements by the Mexican president. On July 4, the national holiday in the United States, López Obrador called on US authorities to pardon Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is being prosecuted for a massive leak of confidential documents.

“If they take him to the United States and sentence him to the maximum sentence and to die in prison, we must start the campaign to dismantle the statue of liberty,” said López Obrador. He is likely to be more conciliatory in Washington, where he will have a breakfast meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday before meeting with Biden at the White House.

In the afternoon, he will pay tribute to former President Franklin D. Roosevelt and human rights defender Martin Luther King. Handshakes aside, voices are emerging in Democratic ranks calling for firmness.