2019-08-05_Bloomberg_Businessweek-Europe_Edition

(Nandana) #1

P O L I T I C S


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Edited by
Jillian Goodman

notmigratebecausetheywantto;theydoit because
ofneed.I havea dreamthatI wanttoturnintoa
reality.Thedaywillcomeduringmyadministration
inwhichMexicanswillnotbegoingforworktothe
UnitedStatesanymore,becauseMexicanswillhave
workandtheywillbehappywherethey’reborn.
WhenyouwereinterviewedbyBloombergin2017,
youaccusedDonaldTrumpof“havinga campaign
ofhatredagainstMexicanimmigrants.”Doyoustill
believethat?
I thinkthat,aswesayinformally,hehastoned
it down.PresidentTrumpis moremoderatenow,
andwearegratefulforthat.Inspiteofthefactthat—
andI saythiswithduerespect—theUnitedStatesis
nowgoingthroughanelectoralprocess.A president
takesofficeintheUnitedStates,worksfortwoyears,
andthen,afterthattime,hestartsthinkingabout
beingreelected.Thatis whatis happeningnow.In
Mexico,wehavea six-yearperiodwithnoreelec-
tion.Thisworkswellforus.Youarehavingelections
inNovember2020,nextyear,andthecampaigning
hasalreadystarted.Thishasa lottodowith—sorry
tosaythis—themigrationpolicyandother...
Justtopushyouonelasttime:Yourheroesarepeo-
plelikeLázaroCárdenas,AbrahamLincoln,Benito
Juárez.Thesewereallmenofprinciplewhostoodup
tobullies.Doyouthinkthatyouarestandingupto
DonaldTrump?
Thereareparallels,yousee.WhenAbraham
LincolnwaspresidentintheUnitedStates,in
Mexico,BenitoJuárezwasthepresident,thebest
presidentinthehistoryofthiscountry.Andthere
wasa goodrelationship.AndPresidentFranklin
DelanoRoosevelt,thetitanoffreedoms,really
hada verygoodunderstandingwithPresident
Cárdenas,inspiteofthefactthat,becauseof
circumstances, President Cárdenas had to nation-
alize oil. Now, even though President Trump is

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador,
known as AMLO, hasn’t stopped to rest since tak-
ingofficeeightmonthsago.Aftermeetingwithhis
securityteamtoassessthelatestcrimestatistics,he
speaksmostweekdaysat 7 a.m. from the presiden-
tial palace in Mexico City, making announcements
and taking questions from the press. On weekends
he flies coach to visit places such as Zongolica,
Veracruz, and Tapachula, Chiapas, to meet with
localsandsellhissocialpolicies,whichinclude
directcashtransferstoelderlyandyoungpeople.
OnJuly29 he sat down with Bloomberg Editor-
in-Chief John Micklethwait for his first interview as
president with an international news outlet. Their
conversation began with a discussion of the U.S.,
which López Obrador continues to view as an ally.

We share a 3,180-kilometer border with the
United States. If we were a European country or a
South American country, perhaps, we could try to
have a different type of relationship with the United
States. However, we’re neighbors, and this neigh-
borlinessmakesit mandatoryforustounderstand
eachother.
Micklethwait:OnFriday,July26, as you know,
Guatemala entered a “safe third country” agreement.
Now, when people from countries like Honduras
or El Salvador seek asylum, they have to apply in
Guatemala first rather than going to America. Would
you ever let Mexico agree to the same?
We wouldn’t. We are enforcing a program to
reduce the number of migrants; it provides pro-
tection to those coming into Mexico. Migrants have
been murdered, and that’s something we do not
want. We mobilized the National Guard—we already
had that plan, since before the threat of tariffs.
Results have been good, although, I must insist, the
best way is to look into the causes of this: People do

BloombergBusinessweek August 5, 2019

Mexico’s President


Addresses the U.S.


Andrés Manuel López Obrador defends his record
on migrants, growth, and Trump

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRETT GUNDLOCK FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK
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