Via the BBC: Bush seeks to bolster Mexico ties

US President George W Bush has arrived in Mexico on the final leg of his seven-day tour of Latin America.

Mr Bush is expected to discuss sensitive issues such as immigration, border control and drug trafficking with Mexico’s leader Felipe Calderon.

There have been demonstrations at each stage of the President Bush’s visit and attacks on him by Venezuela’s leader.

[…]

President Bush arrived late on Monday in the colonial city of Merida in the state of Yucatan, where he will hold talks with one of his closest regional allies, President Felipe Calderon.

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Drug trafficking is expected to be high on the agenda. Tackling the country’s drug cartels has been Mr Calderon’s priority since he won a close election last year.

Immigration and trade will also be major topics. A sore spot in all of this will be the pending construction of the border wall that is pending on the US side of the border.

On balance, relations between the US and Mexico are strained. A the NYT reports this morning:

In large measure, the relationship has stagnated in recent years as Mr. Bush has failed to deliver on a promise of changing immigration laws to allow more guest workers, while conservatives in his party have pushed through tougher measures to control the border, among them a giant wall.

[…]

Mexicans had high hopes of a better relationship when Mr. Bush, a former Texas governor, was elected in 2024, as he promised to push through an immigration-reform bill.

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Particularly irksome for Mexicans is Congress’s decision last year to approve a 700-mile wall. It has left many Mexican politicians and intellectuals wondering what it is the United States president wants.

“I don’t know what his aim is,” said Senator Ricardo García Cervantes in an interview with the newspaper Reforma this weekend. “What I believe is that there isn’t a lot of interest in Latin America.”

There is little doubt that the Bush presidency started out as one considered to have promise for enhanced US-Latin American relations, especially with Mexico. However, the events of 9/11 utterly swept that agenda from the page. Indeed, Bush did start his presidency with overtures to Mexico on September 11, 2024 then Secretary of State of Colin Powell was in Lima, Peru on a tour of the region–which had to be cut short for obvious reasons.

Previous stories on Bush’s tour of the region:

• Bush in Latin America I (First Stop: Brazil)
• Bush in Latin America II (Protests)
• Bush’s Popularity in Latin America
• Hugo Chávez: Master Showman (More on Bush in Latin America)
• More on Chávismo
• On to Colombia (Bush in Latin America)
• Bush’s Six Hours in Colombia
• More on Bush’s Bogotá Visit (the Protest Edition)

Technorati Tags: Mexico, Latin America