US and Mexican legislators unite against growing threats of military action from Donald Trump
Lawmakers urge exploration of new avenues for bilateral cooperation to address the migration crisis, prevent arms trafficking, and strengthen workers’ rights on both sides of the border
The bilateral relationship between Mexico and the United States is going through a turbulent period. Respect for sovereignty and independence, which Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has so strongly defended, is now in jeopardy with the return of Donald Trump to the White House. In less than 10 days of the Republican president’s second term, the first deportations have already begun and diplomatic tensions are palpable, government programs have been frozen, and 1,500 U.S. soldiers have been deployed on the border with Mexico. Faced with these events, members of the U.S. Congress and Mexican legislators have signed a joint declaration in which they express their rejection of the growing threats of military action.
“Any suggestion of military action against Mexico represents not only a dangerous departure from established diplomatic norms, but also a fundamental misunderstanding of our shared history and our interconnected future. Such an aggressive stance threatens to undo decades of progress in building trust, understanding, and cooperation between our nations,” the document reads.
The statement comes a week after the U.S. president signed dozens of executive orders declaring a state of emergency on the border with Mexico and designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. These measures give Trump the power to mobilize the military, build the border wall without requiring congressional approval for funding, and to use drones without complying with regulations that restrict such action.
The United States represents Mexico’s most important and complex relationship. What happens in the U.S. has an immediate impact on Mexico, and although perhaps not on the same scale, what happens in Mexico also influences American interests. As such, this statement highlights the deep ties between Washington and Mexico City and calls for the exploration of new avenues for bilateral cooperation. The goal is to address the root causes of migration, prevent arms trafficking, and strengthen workers’ rights on both sides of the border.
North of the border, the statement was led by Puerto Rican Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and seconded by 13 other representatives, all considered part of the most progressive group in Congress, which includes members of the so-called Squad, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who have been some of Trump’s most vocal opponents since his first term.
In Mexico, anthropologist and deputy for the ruling Morena party, Alfonso Ramírez Cuéllar, who chairs the Budget Commission and is very close to Sheinbaum, was the first signatory. Twenty-two other deputies, including Gabriel García, Leonel Godoy, Rigoberto Salgado, Antares Vásquez and Juan Hugo de la Rosa, all with a long career on the left and with close ties to former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, supported the initiative.
Given this situation, the message of the 37 legislators who supported the declaration is also a call to governments, and especially to citizens, to seek new solutions. “Our shared challenges demand that we reimagine the Mexico-United States relationship, oriented toward a new era of crisis and uncertainty. The border region must become a laboratory for innovative solutions to our common challenges, not a militarized zone that divides our peoples,” they affirm.
“Military escalation that separates our peoples will not solve these problems. The only way forward is through closer cooperation between our nations. I hope this statement will pave the way for a new era of collaboration between leaders on both sides of the border. Together, we can build a future that reflects our shared values and strengthens the ties between our peoples,” said one of the signatory legislators.
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