From Criminals and Rapists to Honest and Hardworking – Trump in Mexico

In an unexpected visit south of the border, Donald Trump met with Mexico’s President, Peña Nieto yesterday, August 31st. Presidential candidates often make visits abroad during their electoral campaigns. But these are carefully planned and organized events, usually to visit strong allies and receive favorable press coverage.

Having declared Mexico as “no friend” to the United States and calling their people “rapists” and “criminals”, Trump’s swift and unorthodox decision to meet with Peña Nieto is characteristic of his unpredictability.

Voto Latino

With 27 million eligible Latino voters in the United States, the central pillar of his campaign – building a wall between the States and Mexico – isn’t going to win him the support he desperately needs.

Perhaps unsurprisingly then, Trump’s speech on Mexican soil did not contain the usual blunder of insults we’ve become used to. In fact, he veritably gushed about Mexicans as “spectacular, spectacular hard-working people.” Declaring Peña Nieto “a friend”.

But whether Trump’s fly-by-night visit to Mexico City will be enough to erode tensions between the two countries and the US-residing Latino population remains to be seen. Particularly if he plans to stay to true to promises to “round up” and deport the approximately 11 million illegal immigrants in the US.

Democratic Backlash

Trump’s impromptu visit unleashed a firing round of criticism from the Democratic Party, with the Clinton campaign quick to remind voters of Trump’s unforgivable tweets and comments about the Mexican people and his firm immigration policy.

Among the list, were the words “totally corrupt” in reference to the Mexican government and “dishonest” when speaking about the Mexican court system. Above all, the Clinton campaign reminded voters of Trump’s belief that “Mexico is not our friend”.

An Impenetrable Wall

At the center of Trump’s electoral campaign has been his harsh stance on immigration and promise that if elected he will build an “impenetrable wall” to stop Mexicans coming across the border and “ripping off U.S.”

An impenetrable wall that the Mexicans would have to pay for. When questioned after the private meeting, the two men had different account of events. Peña Nieto tweeted:

“At the start of the conversation with Donald Trump, I made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall.”

Whereas Trump denied discussing who would foot the bill. “Who pays for the wall? We didn’t discuss that.”

The line taken on border control was more along humanitarian grounds. Illegal crossings are life threatening for those undertaking them, according to the Republican candidate. “The dangerous treks, the abuse by gangs and cartels, and the extreme physical dangers, and it must be solved. It must be solved quickly.”

Peña Nieto, on the other hand reportedly stated that the flow of undocumented migrants from Mexico to the US has been steadily on the decline.

Furthermore, while Trump has been consistent in his views to withdraw the US from the free trade agreement, NAFTA; in Mexico City he talked of making “improvements” to the agreement rather than dismantling it.

Lost in Translation?

While lack of language fluency on both sides could cause misunderstandings, Peña Nieto’s insistence that he refused to pay for the wall and Donald Trump’s assurance that the subject was not broached was not a case of lost in translation. Spanish to English and English to Spanish interpreters were working overtime to ensure that no sentiments were lost.

The lack of emphasis placed on this issue was rather more a tactical one. According to CNN, while Trump’s decision to avoid the subject “undercut his deal-making swagger”, it could also serve to reassure wavering Republican voters.

Image Copyright: Yuri Cortez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images