Nationalism is a powerful tool, and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador knows it. Instead of focusing on the stagnant growth his country is facing, or the cartel violence that caused about 26,000 deaths just last year, he is stirring the pot of national pride.
In his most recent stunt, López Obrador has appealed to Mexicans “in defense of our country” and has mobilized the 52 consulates in the United States to defend what he calls “unacceptable attacks.” This is a highly unusual diplomatic move.
But it is also a sideshow that distracts from impending issues while taking a page from the Latin American populist playbook that portrays the U.S. as the enemy, something impossible to digest from a 21st century perspective, especially when both countries’ economies are intertwined.
While Mexicans have reason to be concerned about Republican lawmakers’ intent to give the U.S. military authorization to cross international borders to fight the drug cartels, there is little chance bills like these can advance in Washington. And there are other diplomatic channels that can be used without angering politicians.
López Obrador went as far as announcing an information campaign targeting Hispanics that advises them not to vote for the Republican Party. Rightly so, GOP leaders see this as election meddling by a foreign nation. This only gives ammunition to the most extreme factions in the GOP, while the real issue, the fentanyl crisis, gets overshadowed by these loud voices.
Who also benefits from López Obrador’s latest stunt? The drug cartels. The less bilateral cooperation there is between Mexico and the U.S., the more their illegal fentanyl drug trafficking goes unchecked.
Statistics can give us some perspective of who is really losing here. Every seven minutes, one American dies of fentanyl overuse, according to The Washington Post data analysis. But also, in Mexico there were three homicides per hour just last December, according to the Mexican government.
The reality is that the security of both nations depends on mutual cooperation. López Obrador, despite his empty rhetoric, needs the U.S. But if Washington wants the Mexican president at the same table, cooler heads must prevail.
We echo Sen. John Cornyn’s words last week: “We’d like to lower the temperature a little bit in some of the rhetoric by having a candid, private conversation with him and his administration about what we can do together to enhance Mexico’s security and their prosperity.”
A more level-headed approach will benefit our common interests in the long run. López Obrador may see some short-term benefits from his rhetoric in his approval ratings, but if Mexican and U.S. leaders can’t have a normal conversation on policy and common objectives, both sides stand to lose badly.
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