A colossal mistake: Mexican leader under fire for plotting to visit Trump

MEXICO CITY The risks may be great, but they have not shaken Mexican President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador.

Mexican diplomats and opposition figures have warned Mr Lpez Obrador to travel to Washington this week to thank President Donald Trump and celebrate the start of a new trade agreement between the two countries and Canada.

The visit, they said, was an incomprehensible choice between a pandemic and global economic crisis, which came with the risk of humiliating the public at the hands of Mr. Trump, who called them rapists and animals of Mexican immigrants, and said that Mexico is not our friend.

However, Mr Lpez Obrador said he would move forward with plans to fly to Washington and greet Mr Trump on Wednesday.

President Trump’s discourse on Mexico has been more respectful than it was before, for which we are very grateful, Mr. Lpez Obrador at a recent press conference. I would also like to thank the U.S. government for treating us with respect.

Bernardo Seplveda, a former foreign minister, wrote in an open letter to the government that the trip would negatively affect national interests in the long run, noting that Mr. Trump has been stigmatizing, offending and humiliating Mexican immigrants.

The visit could also alienate the Democratic Party in the run-up to the November election. Mr Lpez Obrador has no plans to meet with Joseph R. Biden Jr., the former vice president and Democratic nominee. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined the invitation to attend the summit, citing conflict planning.

Some Mexican politicians and experts see the trip as a capitulation to a leader who has routinely devalued the country and undermined his interests. Jorge Castaeda, a former foreign minister, said the visit would not give much benefit to Mexico, and that Trump is using Lpez Obrador for his own political purposes. And Arturo Sarukhn, former Mexican ambassador to the United States, called travel a colossal, electoral, diplomatic and strategic mistake.

But baking has not stopped Mr. Lpez Obrador, a long-standing divisive figure in Mexican politics. He has insisted there is more to gain from the visit than his critics will admit.

Mexico needs to have a stable relationship with the United States, regardless of who the president is, said Erick Ordoez, 29, a supporter of Mr Lpez Obrador who grew up in Chiapas and now lives in Barcelona. Mr Ordoez said the visit could help bring more foreign investment to Mexico and boost the economy.

We need to take advantage of Mexican people, with plans for trade, for job creation, for US investment in Mexico, he said.

Mr Lpez Obrador stressed the importance of celebrating the North American Free Trade Agreement, which came into force last week, at a time when Mexico is in dire need of economic recovery. Mr Trump has also made some late favors to Mexico, sending hundreds of fans across the border and agreeing to help the country meet an obligation to reduce oil production under a recent international agreement.

It was a great fortune, said Luis Rubio, president of the Mexican International Affairs Council. If it doesn’t go well, if Trump talks about the wall or something like that, Lpez Obrador will be embarrassed and turn his tail between his legs.

Travel time has also been the subject of consideration among many people in Mexico. The United States is only a few months away from a national election, coronavirus infections are growing on both sides of the border, and officials close to the two presidents have tested positive for the virus.

Adding health risks to travel is Mr. Lpez Obradors ’favorite mode of transportation: keeping his image as a frugal public servant, the president plans to fly to Washington on a commercial plane.

You can get infected, said Valeria Burgos, a small business owner in Cuernavaca, a town south of the Mexican capital. This is not the time for heads of state to leave their countries.

But Ms Burgos, 27, acknowledged that there could never be an ideal moment for a Mexican president to meet with Mr. Trump. During the U.S. election in 2016, there was a similar outrage over former Mexican President Enrique Pea Nieto’s decision to host Mr. Trump in Los Pinos, the Mexican White House.

It was a total disaster and an insult to the Mexicans, Ms Burgos said. And that was in our country, imagine what it will be like when our president goes to Trumps country.

Mr Lpez Obrador won the presidency in 2018 with the largest margin of victory in more than a decade, but his popularity has plummeted in recent months as concerns about his treatment of pandemic have increased. However, the Mexican president enjoys the approval of nearly 60 percent of the population and a loyal loyal base.

For Mexico, it is politically important that Andrs Manuel is close to the United States, said Jos Paniagua, a longtime supporter of Mr Lpez Obrador who lives in Mexico City. This is a place that always has and will always be our neighbor, said Mr. Paniagua.

If the presidents did not meet, it would hurt us too, because after all, Mexico and the United States will always be together.