If Trump didn’t exist, it would be necessary to invent him
by Jorge G. Castañeda.
Many years ago, in the French philosophy exams at the end of high school (the famous Baccalauréat), students were asked to write a long essay (three hours of writing) on Voltaire’s classic phrase: “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.” What did the 18th-century satirical philosopher mean? What reflections could that comment provoke regarding other beliefs about human existence?
Today, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum has surely considered a similar idea: “If Trump did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.” The statement may seem paradoxical, as the current president of the United States has done nothing but cause intense headaches for many heads of state around the world. But he has also given a strong boost to many of the Mexican president’s peers: to Zelensky and Macron in popularity polls, to Carney and Albanese in recent elections, to Xi Jinping in China’s sui generis political system. Claudia Sheinbaum’s case is similar.
Indeed, every new front Trump opens in the relationship with Mexico becomes a powerful antidote to the growing challenges the Mexican ruling party, Morena, faces domestically. The fronts with Trump occur daily: fentanyl, methamphetamines, tomatoes, livestock, water in Tijuana, water in the Rio Grande, migration, tariffs, USMCA, China, and whatever else gets added. This without mentioning the disagreements that have not been made public but surely exist at some level: Cuba, Venezuela, and others.
Gabbard’s comments undercut Sheinbaum’s resistance narrative
by David Agren.
A new intervention from US President Donald Trump’s camp is casting doubt on portrayals of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum standing up to Trump’s hardline immigration policies. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, praised Mexico’s role in stopping migrants before they reached the US border - but credited that action not to Sheinbaum’s resolve, but to pressure from Trump.
“The President of Mexico told me, sir, she turned around over a half a million people in Mexico before they ever reached our border,” Gabbard told Trump. “We should be counting those as deportations because they never even made it to the border because she turned them around because you forced her to. So those are all people that never even came here because they got the message because you were so aggressive.”
The comments raise questions about Sheinbaum’s efforts to portray herself as a defender of Mexican sovereignty, as she gains praise at home and abroad for her handling of Trump’s threats and demands.
Trump is leading the US down Mexico’s troubled path
by Eduardo García.
When I met my American father-in-law nearly 40 years ago, we often ended our long discussions about Mexico’s political and economic troubles with a phrase that seemed to explain it all: malos gobiernos — bad governments.
If Larry Malkin, a fellow journalist, were still alive — he sadly passed away three years ago — we might still conclude our conversations after all these years with that same phrase. But oddly enough, it would no longer apply just to Mexico, but to his country too.
Over the past two and a half decades, Americans have endured a series of poor governments that seem to have eroded the nation’s moral compass, steering it toward decline — a trajectory Mexico has been on for decades on end.
Felipe Calderón: Sheinbaum must confront the cartels before they completely capture Mexico
In an exclusive interview with The Mexico Brief’s editor, Andrew Law, former President Felipe Calderón rejects the “drug war” label, expresses support for Claudia Sheinbaum’s stance toward cartels, praises her anti-nepotism efforts, and argues US cooperation is crucial - even under Trump - while expressing hope for Mexico’s future.
