US Presidential Election from Mexico’s Perspective
Wed, Dec 14, 2016
On December 7, the Empirical Analyses of Political Economy Unit sponsored a lecture titled “The 2016 US Presidential Election from Mexico’s Perspective” by Professor Jesús Tovar from the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico. Professor Tovar specializes in Mexican politics and democracy in Latin America. In the lecture, he explained how this controversial election was perceived in Mexico.
Mexico has been very closely connected to the United States (US) both economically and politically. Furthermore, approximately ten percent of the population has immigrated to the US. It is assumed that the policies of President-elect Trump, especially on free trade agreements and immigration control, will significantly affect the politics and economy of Mexico. Thus, Mexican people have paid great attention to the next U.S. administration. Professor Tovar’s lecture explained what the victory of Donald Trump means for Mexico from an insider’s perspective.
What does the victory of President-elect Donald Trump mean for Mexico?
The lecture focused on factors explaining the victory of Trump and plausible consequences of his policies to Mexico. More specifically, Professor Tovar explained that the white working class had become increasingly dissatisfied with the elitist Democratic Party and thus supported Donald Trump in the election, that the Democratic Party’s loss of support from the working class started under the administration of Bill Clinton, and that the new policy orientations of President-elect Trump would significantly affect the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). In the seminar, graduate students studying international relations and Latin American studies discussed these issues with Professor Tovar.
