Thread: Mexicans begin to unite in fight against Trump's plans Mark Stevenson, Associated Pr

Mexicans begin to unite in fight against Trump's plans

Mark Stevenson, Associated Press

Updated 3:04 pm, Friday, January 27, 2017



MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexicans are beginning to debate how to fight back against U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive stance on trade and immigration.

Prominent political figures have suggested the country expel U.S. law enforcement agents, stop detaining Central American migrants or no longer inspect northbound trucks for drug shipments. Some activist groups on Friday were calling for a boycott of American brands.

Former President Felipe Calderon said Thursday that "we have to design a policy of retaliation" for Trump's proposed plans, which include making Mexico pay for the border wall he wants to build.

"We have to put U.S. security issues under review ... including the presence of (U.S.) agents" on Mexican soil, Calderon told local news media.

The comments came after current President Enrique Pena Nieto scrapped a planned Tuesday meeting with Trump after the American president tweeted that it would be better to cancel if
Mexico wasn't willing to pay for his proposed wall.

Ruben Aguilar, a political consultant who was spokesman for former President Vicente Fox, noted Friday that Mexico has been stopping Central American migrants before they reach the U.S. border "as part of the logic between two friendly countries."

He suggested that Mexico could say, "Okay, I'm not going to stop Central Americans anymore," and added, "Now if our two countries aren't friends anymore, that is a card we could play to increase the pressure."

"Drugs are another" possible card, Aguilar said. "If you want to stop them with your wall, well we won't stop them anymore, let them go through."

Trump appeared to try to defuse the spat between the two countries Friday, saying, "Great respect for Mexico, I love the Mexican people."

"We have really, I think, a very good relationship, the president and I, and we had a talk that lasted for about an hour this morning, and we are going to be working on a fair relationship," Trump said.

The office of the Mexican president confirmed the call, calling it "constructive and productive," but did not specifically mention the wall or other policies proposed by Trump it doesn't agree with.

Pena Nieto's government instead stressed "the need for both countries to continue working together to stop the trafficking of drugs and the flow of illegal weapons."

"Both presidents recognized their clear and very public differences on this very sensitive issue, and agreed to solve those differences as part of an integrated discussion of all aspects of the bilateral relationship," Pena Nieto's office said. "The two presidents also agreed, for the moment, to no longer speak publicly about this controversial topic."

On Friday afternoon, Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim called for "national unity" in the face of Trump's hostility, and said the country should have a measured response "without getting angry but without surrendering."

Slim called for a "modern, not protectionist" national program of substituting imported products, the vast majority of which come from the United States.
But he stopped short of calling for a boycott of American goods.

"I think it is an error to think about boycotting companies," Slim said. "What we should do instead is buy what is produced in Mexico."

A coalition of Mexican farm and consumer groups, however, did call for such a boycott when it raised the battle flag on Jan. 18, two days before Trump took office.

The campaign's slogan — "Consumers cry war!" — echoes the first line of Mexico's national anthem as it calls on Mexicans to buy national products.

"The statements and threats from the U.S. president-elect are irrational and unacceptable, but they should awaken a rational response, and lead us to radically change in our model of national development, and recover sovereignty over our food system," the coalition said in a statement.

In a country where U.S. chain restaurants, coffee shops and stores are now ubiquitous, social media users created long strings of hashtags such as #AdiosStarbucks #AdiosCostco,
#AdiosWalmart, #AdiosMcDonalds, #AdiosProductosGringos , #ConsumoProductosMexicanos.

Peter Schechter, senior vice president for strategic initiatives at the Atlantic Council, said the dispute may awaken underlying currents of resentment in Mexico. The U.S. took away almost half of Mexico's territory in the 1848 Mexican-American War, though that historic resentment had faded in the last three decades.

"All this does is to solidify the view that an attempt to negotiate with the United States under this administration is impossible, and that we should break from the United States," Schechter said. "This argument has moved from incredulous, to possible in people's minds. The next step is it moves from possible, to the right thing, and that step is not that far."

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/world/article/Mexicans-begin-to-unite-in-fight-against-Trump-s-10889607.php

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The right thing is to take your millions of people back to your country ASAP. mexico has not stopped any central american migrants or any other migrants but has given them a time restricted pass to get to the US border - NO HELP AT ALL. The drug cartels run your country, once again, no help to US. Start a new year mexico without US remittances. GAME OVER, you had a long run but it is OVER NOW.

Peter Schechter, senior vice president for strategic initiatives at the Atlantic Council, said the dispute may awaken underlying currents of resentment in Mexico. The U.S. took away almost half of Mexico's territory in the 1848 Mexican-American War, though that historic resentment had faded in the last three decades.

"All this does is to solidify the view that an attempt to negotiate with the United States under this administration is impossible, and that we should break from the United States," Schechter said. "This argument has moved from incredulous, to possible in people's minds. The next step is it moves from possible, to the right thing, and that step is not that far."

What is this? Who would write such rubbish? We didn't "take" land from them, we won it in a war, and then we paid them for every inch of it, twice. We also let their people who were in these territories stay and become citizens of the US if they wanted to. And there's no strong evidence it was their land to begin with since the Apaches thought a lot of it was their land and fought with Mexico all the time over it. The US had to fight the Apaches over some of it, too.

It is that Reconquista talk. Take back the land through the millions of Mexican citizens residing in certain areas.

I am so weary of Mexico. And you know what? Trump has broken the cycle. Trump has shattered the mantra. Trump has catapulted the reality of this outrageous disaster in our country from illegal immigration into every household in America. There isn't one American who doesn't know the facts, the cost, the crime, the drugs, the deaths, the lost jobs, the depressed wages. This is no longer an issue riding on lack of knowledge any more. The issue now is of the Americans, who cares about that carnage and who doesn't. It's that simple. Either you're with USA or you're against USA. And that is the only thing dividing America today, who cares about our nation and citizens and who doesn't.

I never thought I would ever want to quote Nikki Haley, but wow can Trump change people. He has already changed Nikki Haley, and she actually has a quote that works here. Today at the UN referring to NATO she said, "we've got your backs if you've got ours, for those who don't, we're taking names."

I LOVED THAT!! And it applies to our own citizens, don't you think?

I think so.