By Pamela Starr, director of the U.S.-Mexico Network at the University of Southern California, and Jeffrey Phillips, director of policy for The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, co-authored an article on relations between the two countries following a convening on the topic.
The December inauguration of Andrés Manuel López Obrado (AMLO) as Mexico’s 58th president creates a tremendous opportunity in U.S.-Mexico relations. AMLO and President Trump have established a surprisingly cordial relationship that can serve as the foundation for better binational ties. But this improved landscape is still encumbered by the negative perceptions the two countries have of one another, which inevitably undermine policy outcomes. No two countries matter more to one another, while understanding and appreciating one another so poorly, than the United States and Mexico.