I will admit that I had trouble sleeping last night.
My own personal relationship with Mexico began nearly 30 years ago as a business student at the University of Wisconsin excited about the prospects of the newly signed NAFTA agreement and the potential it would bring. It pains me to think that, 30 years later and having brought tremendous benefits to both nations, we are now at a moment of breaking the agreement and imposing tariffs on each other.
As I could not sleep, in the middle of the night, I decided to write the imaginary message below that I think Sheinbaum should communicate to the American people on this historic day.
From my perspective, Sheinbaum has done a great job so far, but nevertheless, I wanted to share my own thoughts and perspective…
From President Sheinbaum to the American people…..
Today is not a day of anger for us Mexicans, but rather one of profound sadness. One of pain. We cannot pretend to ignore the tariffs that are starting today. We cannot pretend that they will not hurt us economically. We cannot pretend that they will not cause significant hardship for many Mexican families. Of course, they will.
Mexico is in many places still a very poor country. Our economy is less than 15% the size of the United States economy. Our population is about a third of that of the United States. Our gross domestic product (GDP) per person is less than 20% of that of the United States in nominal terms and less than a third adjusted for purchasing power parity. We are far from economic equals. Said differently, the average American is more than 3.4 times wealthier than the average Mexican.
We have worked hard to make Mexico a better place for the average Mexican, and we are succeeding. That is why the net migration of Mexicans to the United States is actually negative over the past decade. In other words, more Mexicans have left the United States than have gone there to live now for over a decade. This is an indication that we are creating opportunities for our own people in a way that we had not done for generations.
A big part of this success is due to the opportunities that have come to our people through free trade. The NAFTA agreement signed over 30 years ago, upgraded to the USMCA free trade agreement in 2018, has, in many ways, been the envy of the world. It has brought benefits to both of our countries: increased wealth, high-paying jobs and co-production of goods that allow us to be competitive and reduce our dependency on China. It has resulted in our two countries not just being neighbors, not just friends, but becoming true partners in the global economy.
Apart from trade, the United States is right to bring up areas where Mexico can do better. I agree, I understand, and I am committed to our country doing better. Perhaps most importantly, I have the support of the Mexican people behind me with an over 80% approval rating. I have taken some significant steps, different from my predecessors, to demonstrate my commitment to the American people for Mexico to do better. In just the first five months of my six-year term, we have demonstrated a historic level of commitment. To name a few action items, we have:
– Captured high-level cartel members
– Extradited 29 high-level cartel members to the United States
– Sent security reinforcements to known cartel areas
– Seized large amounts of illegal drugs
– Shut down fentanyl labs
– Taken extra steps to shut down incoming immigration on our southern border
– Sent 10,000 troops to our northern border to help reduce drug, human and gun trafficking
– Allowed U.S. spy drone flights to take place in Mexico
– Taken action against counterfeit Chinese goods
– Raised tariffs on Chinese goods
– Offered to match U.S. tariff levels on all Chinese goods
– Offered to allow the U.S. to evaluate and approve key Chinese investments in our country
We Mexicans are united with Americans in wanting to reduce the violence on both sides of the border that comes with the drug trade. We are united with Americans in wanting to build a strong trade partnership that allows both of our countries to compete with China. And we are united with Americans in wanting to give our citizens opportunities to grow and improve the livelihoods of their families.
Millions of Mexicans live in the United States. Millions of Americans live in Mexico. Millions of both countries’ citizens travel to each other’s country to vacation, do business and visit family and friends each year. This relationship goes back hundreds of years. This relationship will go on for hundreds more.
Finally, a message to President Trump: Let us work to make the legacy of our presidencies be one of further uniting our two countries, not of attempting to pull them apart. It is a historic moment and we have a historic opportunity to make both of our nations stronger than ever before through increased cooperation. Let’s seize the moment for the good of both of our citizens.
Your neighbor, friend and partner,
Claudia Sheinbaum
Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for nearly 30 years.
