Mexico president-elect strikes upbeat tone about Trump
12 July, 2018
Mexico’s incoming president on Tuesday thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for his “respectful attitude” toward the next Mexican administration and held out hope for joint progress on tackling illegal migration ahead of a major meeting this week.
Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is due to meet on Friday with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and others for talks in Mexico City.
The meeting will be the first major face-to-face discussions between Lopez Obrador and his team and U.S. officials since the leftist won a landslide victory on July 1.
The 64-year-old Lopez Obrador, who will replace outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto as Mexico’s leader on Dec. 1, said the fact Trump was sending several top officials to Mexico offered grounds for optimism about the upcoming relationship.
Lopez Obrador wants to persuade Trump to help foster economic development in Mexico and Central America to complement the affected countries’ own steps to create better living conditions for their people in order to reduce migration.
“We want to make that the key focus of the relationship with the U.S. government and are grateful that it’s understood this way, and there are signs with the treasury secretary’s visit that we can reach a deal for development, and job creation and welfare,” Lopez Obrador told reporters in Mexico City.