Op-ed by Andrew Selee and Christopher Wilson. Andrew Selee is the vice president for programs at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a senior adviser for the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center. Christopher Wilson is an associate for the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center.
CNN, 11/27/2012
As they meet for the first time Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexico's President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto will be operating in a landscape of U.S.-Mexico relations that has changed profoundly since Mexico's outgoing president, Felipe Calderon, took office six years ago.
Illegal immigration is at the lowest level in four decades, and organized crime violence, which has driven much of recent cooperation between the two countries, is finally declining.
Violence remains a critical issue, but economic issues -- bilateral and global -- have risen to the fore as both countries struggle to emerge from the global slowdown. The two leaders will need to give greater emphasis to economic issues, including job creation. But this is also an opportunity to strengthen cooperation on global issues.
The Mexico Institute seeks to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship. A binational Advisory Board, chaired by Luis Téllez and Earl Anthony Wayne, oversees the work of the Mexico Institute. Read more
