As defenders of freedom & democracy repairs are in order
By Adryana Aldeen Senior Correspondent
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Mexican Anti-Americanism: Past Present & the 2018 Election" was the title of the round table I attended on Friday October 13th at
the Teresa Lozano-Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS) at the University of Texas at Austin. The featured guest was Dr. Andrew Paxman a historian and
biographer born in London who has lived for many years in Mexico and teaches history and journalism at Centro de Investigacin y Docencia Econmicas in Mexico (
or CIDE The Center for Economic Research & Teaching).
In his talk Dr. Paxman with a distinguished British accent explored the evolution of Gringophobia since the Mexican-American War of the 1840s. This included the story of U.S. expatriate industrialist William Jenkins who became a Mexican film industry magnate and was the object of politicized anti-American rhetoric from the 1910 Revolution to the 1960s. Paxman explored the likelihood that this kind of rhetoric might play into next years Mexican presidential election especially given the nationalist-populist tendencies of front-runner Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador.
Dr. Paxtman emphasized that the greatest beneficiary in Mexico of the election of Donald Trump as president is Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador whose campaign for the presidency of Mexico is taking off just as Mr. Trump is the most unpopular American president among Mexicans. Lopez Obrador has already run two failed Presidential campaigns in Mexico. In 2006 after the presidential election won by Felipe Calderon Lopez Obrador did not accept the election results and organized an event where he proclaimed himself the Legitimate president of Mexico".
Dr. Paxman emphasized that Anti-Americanism is now returning to Mexico and this may benefit the liberal Lopez Obrador. He was strong in his opinion that since Donald Trumps campaign-igniting murderers and rapists announcement speech of 2015 Trump has been unrivaled as the American
whom Mexicans love to hate. And recent opinion polls show the Trump presidency has begun to impact overall perceptions of the United States in Mexico.
After Paxmans speech there was a time for questions and answers and I asked him what he would consider to be important for a candidate for president of Mexico to do to have a better relationship with President Trump; What does he think can be done so Mexicans have a more positive opinion about Americans and the USA?
Paxman responded that first of all most people in Mexico think it was a big mistake for Mexican president Enrique Pea Nieto to invite Donald Trump to Mexico in May 2016 shortly before the U.S. presidential elections. He said the president of Mexico has learned his lesson and has delegated Luis Videgaray Caso who serves as the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs to dialogue with President Trump.
Paxman called president Trump a toxic figure" and said he thinks it would be political suicide for any Mexican presidential candidate to have a relationship with Mr. Trump. Should there be any dialog at all it should be done behind the scenes with Mr. Trumps son-in-law or another person within his administration.
When I emphasized the importance that both countries should dialogue to have cordial relationships which would benefit both countries Paxman agreed but stressed it would be done tras banbalinas" or behind the scenes.
The discussion in regards to NAFTA was also a point of interest. Most citizens of both nations think positively of NAFTA but the free trade agreement is currently under revision which was initiated by President Trump. (I personally think it needs to be reviewed since it has been more than two decades.)
As Davide Kiley of Forbes recently wrote A full-scale attack on free trade and NAFTA will drive more corporate campaign money to Democrats who openly support free trade and the continuation of NAFTA with just some modifications around the edges of the agreements. And it will put Republicans who are free-traders but are also aligned with Trump for populist reasons between a rock and hard place with voters and donors."
But going back on the anti-American spirit from most Mexicans I do understand the point that the biggest beneficiary in Mexico during all the past months has been candidate Lopez Obrador which I consider the most dangerous individual to be elected in Mexico.
A recent poll taken by Excelsior a major newspaper in Mexico was shown by Paxman to illustrate Mexican voting trends over the past 12 months. It shows a steady rise by Lpez Obrador and his Morena party especially after the U.S. elections in November.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador best known for his initials AMLO" and also known as El Peje" is a figure like Venezuela Chavez and Cubas Castro which is frightening. For Mexico to become the next Venezuela would be catastrophic and will not be beneficial for the United States to have in the southern border.
Lpez Obrador sounds exactly like Chvez did when he ran for office. Lpez Obrador lashes out against corruption vows to reverse what he calls the privatization of Mexicos oil resources and wants to revert to Mexicos old nationalist foreign policy.
Mexican citizens should become more aware of the truths of the last elections in the United States when the Republican Party showed the most disunity ever and when democrats elected as their candidate the most polarizing candidate possible in Hillary Clinton who had a list of so many things which made her a bad candidate for President: the Benghazi incident (regardless of her level of actual involvement) recklessness in using her email server voting for the 2003 invasion of Iraq achieving power because of her husband and disregarding her own accomplishments using Clinton Foundation funds to benefit her daughter and family (where many donations came from special interest foreign nationals) her biased judgment favoring rich donors accusations within the Democrat Party that she is either too liberal or too conservative and the fact that she has been in politics too long and it was time for change.
Donald Trump won the electoral vote because he ignited the activism of many who have never been interested before. They were tired of the status quo politicians in power. Trump has not only been in the reality show business but he is a businessman who knows how to negotiate deals and that was one factor which helped him in spite of all his harsh rhetoric through speeches or tweets against not only Mexicans but other people his primary opponents the handicapped women etc.
Harsh rhetoric and hate statements have proven to cause almost-irreparable damages not only in relationships between two people but also between the two countries. Its time to heal and its time that both countries both republics the USA and Mexico sit down represented by individuals who know how to have a cordial conversation and understand the need that both countries have of each other and have a conversation to see where and how they can help each other
As neighbors and defenders of freedom and democracy it should happen before the current situation goes on much longer to the benefit of a dangerous populist Lopez Obrador.
Senior Correspondent Adryana Aldeen is frequently featured nationally statewide and locally on Univision Telemundo CNN Espaol FOX News ABC and other media outlets.
