New Leadership promises new thinking
While Trump's win and promises of increasing tarriffs with Mexico has made the headlines, appropriately, Sheinbaum too brings some new, and possibly unexpected strategies for Mexico. I'm keen to see how she will lead Mexico on this very challenging and important issue,. . . both the tarriff issue(s) but too the immigration one, which I expect will become woven negotiations.
I believe the rise of populism on both sides of the US-Mexico border presents considerable challenges to security cooperation and the strength of America's relationship with Latin America more broadly. Populism feeds on mass discontent with previously respected institutions and encourages the public to put their trust in charismatic political movements and figures. As seen with Lopez Obrador in Mexico and Donald Trump in the United States, populism often consolidates political power in one or very few individuals. As a result, democracy and the system of checks and balances that come with it are undermined by the cult of personality these figures cultivate. To overcome these challenges, academia, politicians, and civil servants to articulate both an intellectual and moral defense of our democratic and governmental institutions and to showcase their effectiveness through policy success.