Strains in the US–Mexico relationship

Abstract

Mexico and the United States are at an impasse over an attempt by Mexico’s president to re-nationalise some parts of the country’s energy sector. Mexico’s government has also taken more combative stances on foreign-policy issues in the last year, joining Latin America’s populist left. While these conflicts will probably not have a major effect on US-Mexico cooperation on critical issues such as bilateral goods trade and immigration, they suggest that a degree of mutual suspicion remains at the heart of the relationship despite the arrival of a new administration in Washington in 2021.