Sheinbaum responds to Trump
Nov. 26, 2024
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatened to slap new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, the country’s main trade partners. (Bloomberg, Washington Post)
Trump referenced a migrant caravan traveling through Mexico towards the U.S. and said he would sign an executive order to implement a 25% tariff against Canada and Mexico until drugs and migrants stopped crossing their borders into the U.S. “This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” (New York Times)
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected Trump’s rhetoric, saying in a public letter: "We do not produce the weapons, we do not consume the synthetic drugs. Those killed by crime to meet the demand for drugs in your country, unfortunately, are provided by us." She also said a trade war would be pyrrhic for economic interests on both sides of the border, reports Animal Político.
Sheinbaum also made clear that Mexico would retaliate with its own tariffs if Trump went ahead with his plan, reports the Washington Post.
Indeed, the big risk in North America is that Sheinbaum calls Trump’s bluff, argues James Bosworth at Latin America Risk Report. “While a trade war would always be disastrous for Mexico’s economy, no Mexican leader has ever been in a better political position to challenge the US president than she is right now.”
Nonetheless, “a slide in the peso highlights just how vulnerable the Latin American nation is to a trade war with its northern neighbour,” according to the Financial Times.
The proposed tariffs may also signal Trump’s plans for the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which he renegotiated during his first term. While the treaty is up for review in 2026, analysts said the move may be aiming to jumpstart the process, reports the Guardian.
Diego Marroquín Bitar at the Wilson Center think-tank warned that unilateral tariffs “would shatter confidence in USMCA and harm all three economies”. (Financial Times)
More U.S.-Mx
Sheinbaum’s plans to change Mexico’s approach to combating drugs has a giant obstacle: Trump — argues Juan David Rojas in The Nation.
Brazil
Dozens of audio recordings, obtained by Brazilian police investigators “reveal high-ranking members of Brazil ‘s army discussing efforts to pressure then-President Jair Bolsonaro to carry out a coup and remain in power,” reports the Associated Press.
Neither the former president nor his ministers are heard speaking, notes the Associated Press. The recordings are not directly related to the Nov. 21 formal accusation by Brazil’s police that Bolsonaro and 36 others attempted to stage a coup — but were cited by Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes in his order last week to detain five security officers who allegedly planned to assassinate President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and de Moraes himself.
Regional Relations
The political fates of Bolsonaro and Trump — whose political paths have paralleled in many ways — are now starkly divergent, in part due to the starkly different tools each country has for holding politicians accountable, Omar Encarnacion, a professor of politics at Bard College who has studied both cases told Reuters.
Trump’s new bro in the Latin American hood is Argentine President Javier Milei, writes Ishaan Tharoor in the Washington Post. They share a ”political animus — deep anger and grievance against a supposedly leftist status quo, and a radical vision to turn the tables. In that project, they have the support of a cast of powerful financial elites, including prominent Silicon Valley would-be oligarchs.”
Venezuela
Edmundo González Urrutia said he plans to take office on Jan. 10. The Venezuelan politician fled to Spain in the midst of a violent crackdown by Nicolás Maduro’s government after the July presidential election, that González is widely believed to have won by a landslide. González did not specify how he plans to reenter the country. (El País)
An accident at a gas plant has Venezuela facing sever propane shortages — most Venezuelans rely on the fuel for cooking and other household uses, reports Bloomberg.
Mexico
Over 18,000 people have registered online to run for Supreme Court seats and federal judgeships in the elections mandated by Mexico’s judicial reform. Those who meet the qualifications will be whittled down by a random draw, reports the Associated Press.
Chile
Chile President Gabriel Boric’s lawyer said sexual harassment allegations against the head of state are false — the scandal is hitting the governmenment just weeks after a former top official was charged with rape, reports Bloomberg.
Ecuador
An Ecuadorean court convicted 20 of 21 total defendants in the wide-ranging organized crime and drug trafficking Metastasis case, yesterday. (Reuters)
Suriname
“Suriname’s president has announced a program of “royalties for everyone” as the South American nation plans for a boon from recently discovered oil and gas reserves,” reports the Guardian.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua’s parliament approved a law that seeks to nullify foreign sanctions issued against President Daniel Ortega’s family and about 50 high-ranking state officials. While the legislation cannot curb the impact of sanctions outside the country, it aims to nullify their reach within Nicaragua by forcing local banks and other institutions to ignore them, reports Reuters.
Peru
Thousands of small-scale miners in Peru blocked roads and camped outside Congress yesterday to demand extension of a program that allows them to operate temporarily. Authorities say the measure has expanded illegal mining, reports Reuters.
Costa Rica
“Emergency workers in Costa Rica walked through a remote mountain forest on Tuesday carrying a woman who was in critical condition after she survived a plane crash that killed five of the six people aboard,” reports the New York Times.
Culture Corner
Netflix will screen the first two episodes of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” at a film festival in Havana that was long championed by Gabriel García Márquez - New York Times
Both Venezuela and Colombia claim arepas as their own. But where does it really come from? And who makes the cornbread better? - New York Times