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Mexico, Canada Pressed on Border Issues
September 25, 2001
Summary
Security has replaced trade as the main priority in U.S. relations with Mexico and Canada. Governments in Mexico City and Ottawa, however, will have difficulty balancing Washington's demands with domestic political constituencies opposed to any involvement in the war on terrorism.
Analysis
Since NAFTA was implemented in 1994, trade has been the cornerstone of bilateral relations between the United States, Mexico and Canada. That changed Sept. 11 when suspected Islamic extremists destroyed the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon.
The Bush administration has put trade and immigration on the back burner for the foreseeable future. The creation of a new Cabinet-level post tasked with homeland defense means that from now on, security will trump all other issues in relations between the United States and both of its NAFTA partners. In coming months, Washington will seek cooperation from Mexico and Canada in building a North American security perimeter. But policymakers in Mexico City and Ottawa will have difficulty meeting such demands without upsetting domestic political constituencies strongly opposed to any involvement at all in the U.S. war on terrorism.
This political balancing act is especially difficult in Mexico, where the government of President Vicente Fox is divided over how much, if any, support to give the United States in fighting terrorism.
Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda, a lifelong critic of the United States, said recently that America is "entitled" to carry out reprisals against its attackers, Reuters reported. Castaneda also urged Mexico to support the United States actively because not doing so could hurt future relations between the countries in matters important to Mexico. Meanwhile Interior Minister Santiago Creel warned that Mexico should not give up its decades-old policy of not involving itself in any external conflicts and that it should limit its political support for the United States to multilateral forums such as the United Nations
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(c) 2001 Stratfor, Inc.
Dan
Mexico, Canada Pressed on Border Issues . . .