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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 12 July 2022
Mexico, U.S. presidents to meet amid newly tense relationship

Associated Press and deep agenda, includ-
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The ing joint efforts on migra-
U.S.-Mexico relationship — tion, food security and eco-
a straightforward tradeoff nomic opportunity, and so
during the Trump adminis- the president looks forward
tration, with Mexico tamp- to having that conversa-
ing down on migration and tion,” Jean-Pierre said.
the U.S. not pressing on She sidestepped questions
other issues has become about Lopez Obrador’s re-
a wide range of disagree- peated public criticism of
ments over trade, foreign the Biden administration,
policy, energy and climate including U.S. efforts to ex-
change. tradite Wikileaks founder
President Andrés Manuel Julian Assange from the
López Obrador is to visit U.K. for prosecution.
Washington on Tuesday to “We see AMLO, the presi-
meet with President Joe dent of Mexico, as a part-
Biden, a month after López ner,” she said, adding that
Obrador snubbed Biden’s many conversations would
invitation to the Summit of be had. “And I’m going to
the Americas in Los Ange- leave it at that.”
les. Mexico’s leader had The question is how hard
demanded that Biden in- President Joe Biden meets with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in the Oval the Biden administration is
vite to the summit the lead- Office of the White House in Washington, Nov. 18, 2021. willing to push Mexico on
ers of Cuba, Nicaragua Associated Press anything.
and Venezuela all coun- López Obrador also has an- semi-trailer in Texas were trolling inflation, immigra- With Republicans like Texas
tries with anti-democratic grily rejected any U.S. criti- Mexican. tion and security. He said Gov. Greg Abbot relent-
regimes and he has also cism of the killings of jour- “We have to look for a way a group of business lead- lessly pointing at the mi-
called U.S. support for nalists in Mexico or his own to act together, help each ers, including Carlos Slim, gration issue, Mexico holds
Ukraine “a crass error.” efforts to weaken checks other in controlling infla- Mexico’s wealthiest citizen, huge leverage. It is under
On that, and other issues, and balances in Mexico’s tion,” López Obrador said would accompany him. no obligation to accept
it’s clear López Obrador is government. He is also an- Friday. “That is a topic I am White House press secre- anyone returned at its bor-
getting along much worse gered by U.S. funding of going to propose. We have tary Karine Jean-Pierre said der except Mexican citi-
with Biden than with Don- civic and non-governmen- a plan.” Friday that the Bidens are zens, but it has allowed the
ald Trump, who threatened tal groups in Mexico that Before departing for Wash- looking forward to welcom- U.S. to continue to deport
Mexico, but wanted only he claims are part of the ington Monday, López Ob- ing Lopez-Obrador and his migrants of other nation-
one thing from his south- opposition. rador said he planned to wife at the White House. alities under Title 42 health
ern neighbor: stop migrants It all adds up to a witches’ speak to Biden about con- “They will discuss a broad regulations.q
from reaching the border. brew in bilateral relations.
“I think it is more that the “At the end of the day, the
Biden administration has problem is that you have
tried hard to re-institutional- the complete mismatch in
ize the relationship and re- this relationship,” said Ar-
store the relationship that’s turo Sarukhan, who served
not centered solely on im- as Mexico’s ambassador to
migration and trade. And I the U.S. from 2006 to 2013.
think as a result that leads The United States “needs
to issues coming up that Mexico as a key partner on
AMLO is less comfortable everything from ‘near shor-
talking about,” Andrew ing’ (manufacturing for the
Rudman, director of the U.S. market) … in terms of
Mexico Institute at the Wil- competitiveness, in terms
son Center, said, using the of North American energy
Spanish acronym by which security, energy indepen-
Mexicans refer to the presi- dence, energy efficiency,”
dent. Sarukhan said.
U.S. officials want López “The problem is you have
Obrador to retreat on his a Mexican president who
reliance on fossil fuels and doesn’t care about any of
his campaign to favor Mex- these things.”
ico’s state-owned electric- What the Mexican presi-
ity utility at the expense of dent is interested in talking
foreign-built plants pow- about is inflation, which
ered by gas and renew- in June spiked to almost
able energy. Washington 8%. Inflation and the eco-
has filed several complaints nomic after-effects of the
under the U.S.-Mexico-Can- pandemic are leading an
ada free trade agreement increasing number of Mexi-
pushing Mexico to enforce cans to emigrate 22 of the
environmental laws and 53 migrants who recently
rules guaranteeing trade died after being aban-
union rights. doned by smugglers in a