International NEWS updates, March 2009
US-Mexico relations are at a tense and defining moment. During Felípe Calderón's first two years as president, drug war violence has reached an all time high. Meanwhile, the effects of the U.S. financial and economic crisis are spilling over our southern border ? with job loss and the devastation of family incomes and savings hitting Mexicans, just as they have in United States.
At the same time, disputes over NAFTA provisions have gone public, and some panicky voices in the U.S. national security establishment have even suggested that the overall disintegration of Mexico is so serious that the Mexican state itself is in danger of "catastrophic failure." This sense of crisis ? whether manufactured or real ? has reduced the focus on traditional, bi-lateral concerns like immigration policy.
On March 25th and 26th, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Monterrey, Mexico to lay the groundwork for an April 16th and 17th trip by President Barack Obama to Mexico City where he will meet with Mexico's president, Felípe Calderón. Additional preparatory visits by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder add to the sense that the new U.S. Administration is giving Mexico top priority.
