Modern Mexico Task Force, Center for Hemispheric Policy, 12/4/2012
The general elections that took place in July in Mexico and the recent presidential election in the United States provide an opportunity to put forward ideas to renew the U.S.-Mexico bilateral agenda and to develop a new vision for North American integration. Unfortunately, as has happened in the past, the two countries will most likely forgo this opportunity. While foreign policy generally does not feature in the elections of these two countries as a key topic, many issues concerning the U.S.-Mexico relationship, including migration, border security and trade, tend to gain some visibility, albeit a negative one, in the U.S. electoral game. One example was President Barack Obama’s electoral promise to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). By contrast, these “intermestic” issues (issues that concern both the international and domestic realms) did not feature prominently in the Mexican elections, although in this past electoral season the fight against drug-trafficking and the associated levels of violence was an exception.
