Link to Article: https://apnews.com/article/biden-north-america-summit-mexico-updates-871328ff21fc6a87b698742f6e9ed3d4
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador – Mexico’s President – challenged US president Joe Biden on Monday at the start of the summit of North American Leaders in Mexico City. Obrador called for biden to put and end to the attitude of “abandonment” and “disdain” for Latin America and the Caribbean. Obrador stated that “This is the moment for us to determine to do away with this abandonment, this disdain, and this forgetfulness for Latin America and the Caribbean” Obrador also claimed that too many imports are coming from Asia rather than being produced in the Americas. Biden responded to these statements by mentioning how the United States spend billions of dollars in foreign aid all over the globe. Biden said further “unfortunately our responsibility just doesn’t end in the Western Hemisphere” and made comments on the U.S deaths due to fentanyl that has been smuggled across the US border with mexico. After the harsh opening arguments, both leaders pledged to cooperate with one another.
It is clear that Mexico is speaking for the entirety of Latin America and feels that the united states is not focused enough on its neighbors and allies in the Americas. perhaps worried that the US is too focused on nations and areas across the pacific or atlantic, such as the middle east or southeast asia. In addition, the mexican leader believes that the Americas should increase its manufacturing ability and use the vast natural resources available to them to produce their own products rather than importing them from China. The United States and Canada will have to make decisions on these allegations and statements from Mexico and will have to consider the cheap products from China that are easily shipped to the Americas with the economical benefits of producing their own products and supporting their fellow nations.
I would like to focuses specifically on Obrador’s statement regarding the United States and its abandonment and forgetfulness for Latin America and the Caribbean. This relates to our in class discussion and learning on the United States foreign policy over time and discussion on whether a more balanced or restrictive foreign policy is more favorable for the United States as the world shifts from a Unipolar international society to a multi-polar society. The US in the past had to manage the rest of the world, specifically, its interests in the middle east and persian gulf, as well as restricting Russia and China. By using a more restrictive foreign policy. The United States could become less involved in these areas and focus more on itself and neighboring nations like Mexico, Canada and others in Latin America and the Caribbean.