This week, Donald Trump it reminded us of the danger it poses for Mexico.
At a rally held in the state of Ohio, he displayed and even mocked the blackmail to which he subjected our country in 2019, when he threatened to impose tariffs on Mexican products if our immigration policy was not toughened.
The full quote is not wasted: “The highest representative of Mexico came (to see me), just below the highest (position), just below the boss who happens to be the president (of Mexico). I’ve never seen anyone bend over like that. He came in (to my office) and (the Mexican representative) laughs at me when I tell him: ‘We need 28,000 soldiers on the border, for free.’ He looked at me and said something like ‘(Deploy soldiers) for free?’ ‘Why would we do that in Mexico?’ I told him: ‘we need something called ‘Stay in Mexico’… I threatened to put in tariffs of 25 percent. After that (he) looked at me and said: ‘Sir: it would be an honor to have 28 thousand soldiers on the border! It would be an honor to have ‘Stay in Damn Mexico’! We want to have ‘Stay in Mexico!’”
The Mexican government, in the voice of the president López Obrador and the chancellor Marcelo Ebrard, has minimized Trump’s statements, placing them as mere electoral maneuvers. “He is like that,” he said in a tone between resigned and indifferent President López Obrador.
And yes, that is how he is and that is how he will treat us if he reconquers the White House in 2024, a scenario that does not seem remote at this point. The blackmail, the threats, the insults are going to return. And a Trump empowered and triumphant, he could dare to do much worse things than what he did in his first term in office. It is worth remembering that two months ago, he suggested that perhaps the United States should do with Mexico what Russia is doing with Ukraine. Simple outburst? Perhaps, but that is not a threat that should be taken lightly.
That implies that we should start preparing for Trump 2.0. How? Here are some potential ideas:
1. Design strategic retaliation: faced with the possibility of a new Trumpist blackmail, it would be necessary to be ready with a package of targeted sanctions that would serve as tokens in a negotiation. For example, compensatory tariffs could be imposed on some US products, strategically selected to hit important sectors for Trump and his allies.
2. Deploy an aggressive judicial strategy. The mexican government it could make intensive use of US justice to protect national interests (in the manner of the lawsuit against arms producers). He could sue various US agencies for civil rights violations. Likewise, the US government could be brought before arbitration panels of the WTO and the T-MEC for the imposition of discriminatory tariffs.
3. Vigorously support the Mexican and Mexican-American communities. This could include initiatives that help citizens of Mexican origin to register to vote and permanent resident Mexicans to become US citizens.
4. Reduce cooperation on strategic issues. The containment of the migration of Central Americans to the United States is, as the 2019 negotiation shows, an important one. It should be used strategically and proactively. The same in terms of combating drug trafficking.
All of these ideas can be foolish, counterproductive, or downright unworkable. Others will have to be found. But what does seem unreasonable is expecting Trump to behave differently than he did in his first presidency. In this matter, no one can be called a surprise anymore.
[email protected]: @ahope71
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