Member-only story
Trump and AMLO are not polar opposites: Understanding 2020 United States-Mexico summit
Despite years of insults and confrontation, left-wing Mexican president becomes friendlier with United States president Donald Trump. Time has taught us that Donald Trump is a pragmatic politician and businessman, who has been found to be somewhat susceptible to being pressured and influenced by his advisers. Trump is willing to change direction as long as it is profitable, necessary and high-returning. Long-term confrontation can be expensive and not very convenient. For the United States, the meeting and the ensuing side-by-side pictures were expected to send strong signals not only to the region, but also to the whole world. Some key topics for the meeting included: the border wall policy, new United States-Mexico trade agreements, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and a North American coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, better known as AMLO, has been a key ally of the Latin American left. After a long winning streak, the Latin American left experienced electoral defeats in a number of former strongholds since 2015. The victories of both AMLO in Mexico and Alberto Fernández in Argentina have been critical for the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela. The prospect of a more united Latin American left has been growing…
