Mexico-U.S. relation: It's time for dialogue and cooperation

It's been 45 days since the U.S. government demanded that Mexico reduced the migration influx , who travel through Mexico in hopes of arriving in the U.S. In case the number of migrants in the border did not decrease, the U.S. would retaliate against Mexico by implementing tariffs on Mexican imports .

After this period, the Donald Trump administration recognized that the number of undocumented migrants who cross into the U.S. has decreased, as well as the number of asylum requests. For 45 days, the bilateral relationship has reduced to migration and that that Mexico has agreed to fulfill the demands made by the U.S., it is time to obtain something in return.

Yesterday, the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo , visited Mexico, which seems to be a positive sign. After meeting with Minister Marcelo Ebrard , Pompeo said that both countries share a lot more than a border , he also said that Mexico is one of its most important partners to increase security and prosperity in the two countries and in the region.

Throughout history, there have been several disagreements between Mexico and the U.S. but 25 years ago, the relationship changed: from being neighbors to a close partnership . Nevertheless, in 2017, this relationship became distant once again and Mexico has been constantly attacked by President Donald Trump .

Now that Mexico adopted a new position and vowed to contain migration , especially against thousands of Central Americans, after pressured from Washington , the U.S. should be reminded that the relationship between two countries that share a large border should not be based on blackmail or threats but rather on cooperation and dialogue .

This time, Mexico raised two relevant issues for the internal agenda : arms trafficking from the U.S. and the tariffs the U.S. imposed against Mexican tomatoes . In regards to arms trafficking, Mexico requested the creation of b inational groups to stop the smuggling of weapons , which is one of the causes behind the homicides registered in Mexico. In regards to Mexican tomatoes , there is concern about how these tariffs affect Mexican producers because, in the last 23 years, Mexican tomato had been commercialized without any tariff.

In the end, Mexico committed to continuing implementing the same migration strategy . It is time for the Mexican government to pose requests and demands equal support. It is the least you can expect from a neighbor.

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